This morning’s news made me cry. It told me to lose heart. It told me that things are hopeless. It told me that I have no power. It told me that there is no wonder in life. It told me that the darkness is more real than the light. I almost believed it.
But then I remembered: I can be radical, too. I can refuse to lose heart. I can look for the wonders of this new day and celebrate them and thank God for them and revel in them and repeat them. And I can do the same thing tomorrow and the next day. With my one small life, I can say ‘yes’ to the wonder of being.
“The profound and perpetual awareness of the wonder of being has become a part of the religious consciousness of the Jew. Three times a day we pray: ‘We thank Thee . . . for Thy miracles which are daily with us, for Thy continual marvels. . . .’ What is the meaning of such repetition? A scientific theory, once it is announced and accepted, does not have to be repeated. . . . [But] the insights of wonder must be constantly kept alive. . . .” Abraham Heschel
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5