Darkness is a space for possibility. We fill it with what we bring with us, what we choose to recognize and promote, what we choose to remove or part ways with. Sometimes, it feels like the choice is paramount. Sometimes, it feels like there is no choice. In either case, we yearn for freedom in the darkness, hoping that that freedom illuminates all we cannot see.

Now is the time to apologize for having not read the book. I will, someday, so, moving on.

This famous title has a familiarity to it that resonates whether one has read the book or not. “All the light we cannot see”.  Reminds me of, “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. Or, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you”. Or even, “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all”. There’s just something classic in the way it rolls off the tongue and resonates within the head and the heart.

Many of these phrases act as guiding lights in our darkness, helping us become more self-aware of our desire to be free, our deep yearning for freedom. The creative yearn for self-expression. The chaotic yearn for tranquility. The war-torn yearn for peace. The misunderstood yearn for understanding. The displaced yearn for home.

There used to be a television show on FX called Legion. It was brilliant and heartbreaking, but also incredibly fulfilling, propelling the imagination forward in a mostly positive way. There was a poem written within the context of the show that I have not stopped thinking about since I heard it.

once upon a time

there was a girl with no dreams

she lived in the right now

then she met a boy

and his dream became hers

except what he didn’t realize

was she already had a dream

that dream was to

be care free

To be truly free, without pain, without anxiety, without care.

This post is dedicated to a certain section of nerdom and the related family and friends, mourning the loss of one of their own. By all accounts, a guiding light so that those around might find their way in the darkness.

Take the shackles off my friends. Reach out, take chances, and make connections.