What Does “You Are the Light of My Life” Mean?
At the celebration of their fiftieth wedding anniversary, the husband said to his wife, “You are the light of my life.” What did he mean? If you were present and asked the man, he might have responded with a variation on what he had said already. He might have said, “Her humor, her generosity and thoughtfulness have been sunlight to me. My life would have been so much darker without her in it.” It is clear that this man‘s wife has given him a great deal over the years. You get that he is celebrating the gift that she has been to him. But what about these references to light — what do they actually mean?
I’m not sure what they actually mean. However, I wonder about this question a good deal. They seem to point to something really important.
This is a good time of year to celebrate the mystery of light. The Winter Solstice was just a few weeks back. The celebrations that involve light are recently over — Christmas, Hanukkah and the Hindu Festival of Lights.
Consider these references to light:
- “His face lit up when he saw his son.”
- “They had a marriage lived in the Light.”
- “After his resurrection, Jesus appeared bathed in Light.”
- “The Buddha taught the way to En-light-enment.”
- “At her wedding, her face was radiant when she said ‘I do’.”
- When my wife threatened to leave me, I finally saw the light.”
- “The ancient prophets sought to lead the people out of darkness into light.”
- “An illustration in an edition of Dante’s Paradiso shows souls ascending from earth into the light.
- The Apostles and saints are often represented as having a halo of light around their heads.
- People who have had near-death experiences often report of being drawn to a brilliant light that appeared at the end of a tunnel.
What do these references to light have in common? What do they suggest? When in your life have you felt full of light?
Tags: Spirit, Spirituality
