A Light in the Darkness: 2018 Holiday Greetings

Light - at least the generation of the electricity that fuels light - is a staple of our work at CUB. This is probably why I spend a lot of time thinking about the implications of the presence and/or absence of light, both literally and figuratively.

In fact, many of the holidays we associate with this season: Hanukah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and others seem to have one thing in common: The celebration of light. Celebrations which remind us that light can, and in fact will, overtake darkness: In Hanukah, the celebration is a reminder that the oil in the lamp lasted for eight days bathing the reconstructed temple in light; the Winter Solstice celebrates that days will once again grow longer; in Christianity the baby Jesus is born to become “the light of the world”, and the candles lit for each guiding principal of Kwanzaa symbolize the power of vision and light.

I have observed that it is a time when all of humanity seems to agree to be kinder, more charitable, and more generous of spirit than at other times of the year. In the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s nephew says to his uncle that he has always thought of this season as

“…a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good…”

That does not mean that we shouldn’t strive to live in the light all year long. It is simply that during this time of year, we acknowledge that though darkness seems to have a stronghold, there is the opportunity to offer or receive a helping hand, create or step into a new future; provide or accept guidance toward something better. A reminder that we can be the tiniest bit of light that will utterly overpower the dark.

So, as you head toward the new year, please accept, on behalf of all of us at CUB, our heartfelt wishes for a wonderfully bright, light-filled holiday season.

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