I recently attended a holiday concert that featured a brass instrument group and two choirs – one of middle school and one of high school age students. One of the songs the combined choirs sang brought me to tears.
I attended the concert with my partner and my four sisters along with their “pluses”. Music is essential in our family. My partner’s career was in music. My father taught instrumental music, and everyone in our family played an instrument. We also sang in choir in school and in church. Attending a holiday concert as a group revives memories of our parents and of past holidays. My feelings ran the gamut from joyous to melancholy.
There were fun segments to the concert with some of the usual carols and kid favorites. The audience even got involved in part of the program. When the choirs sang, however, I swear there were angels present. Such pure voices and harmony. It was a gift to everyone there. When the two choirs combined to sing “Looking for the Light” by Adam and Matt Podd, I was overcome.
Let me explain. I have been estranged from my youngest son and his beautiful family for over two years. Ours is a long story of misdeeds, misunderstandings, failure to communicate in a way that is understood, and much more. I am told that there are many such families, and the pain is sometimes unbearable. I have cried more tears than I can count in a lifetime. When there was communication, we did not seem to hear each other and so it goes on and on until, this December, any communication with that family, including three grandchildren, was banned totally.
Part of the lyrics of “Looking for the Light” are:
“Looking for the Light
It’s shining somewhere
It’s somewhere deep inside …..
It’s right here in you
It’s right here in me
It’s not way out there…..
It’s right here in you
It’s right here in me.”
This song reminded me of all the beautiful and wonderful reasons that I love my sons and their families, especially the beauty of my grandchildren. It challenged me to look for the Light in each person, not just my family, but in people everywhere.
It is not difficult to see the Light in children. Their souls are so pure. It’s another story when it comes to adults. Our world seems so divided – religion, politics, wealth, health, race, gender, and on and on. There is so much anger and resentment. The gaps between us grow wider. What happened to the Light we carried when we came into this world? Have we forgotten that we once carried it? That we all came from the same Source?
What might happen if this year, we ALL stopped judging and instead looked for the Light in each other? I am willing to give it a try. How about you?
Beverly J Bowers, CFP®
