Light and what it means to fly

Light is an important, and often underrated, element of our very existence. It is a part of everything we do, a part of us, and an integral part of what we believe in as darkness. Even in the evening, there is light in the night sky- constant reminders of what we once were and what we will become. Stars.  Light is a transference of energy, and energy is a part of literally everything. Energy itself never dies, but is ever changing, evolving, and becoming a part of something new. Manifesting itself in a multitude of different forms, always producing a sort of luminescence.

I have always loved the stars. Loved the warmth of the sun. The way the light dances through treetops and strands of hair. The ability for light to radiate from inside of us. I think a beautiful sunset is, honestly, the perfect manifestation of our understanding of light, and the closest we'll get to truly seeing more of the light and all of the world it can open us up to. A sunset is also the product of pollution. The ability to make something beautiful out of something awful. We romanticize our own human faults without even knowing it. But still, a sunset does make you feel awfully small sometimes, so perhaps it helps to teach us of our own insignificance and how we ourselves are very little lasting but the things we leave behind will continue to have a greater impact.

Speaking of a lasting impact, I recently watched a great film called Kubo and the Two Strings that follows a magical tale of a boy in Heian period Japan and the trials he faces on a quest to avenge his parents. This film was gorgeous. In every aspect of the word. The truth and sincerity displayed by every element of the piece is remarkable. One example being a continuous thread in the film on dealing with loss, as seen in the Japanese tradition of Toro Nagashi. Toro Nagashi, I learned, is a traditional Japanese ceremony that releases lanterns onto the water to help guide the spirits of those we've lost back to the ancestors in the Other World. This tradition is portrayed in the film, but it dives even deeper into the continuation of light and life. Throughout the film, there are golden cranes that fly by. It is said that these cranes are made from the same lights released on the water. That they are the new manifestation of the spirits' energies making their journey. I thought this was such a beautiful way to view both light and energy. Neither ever truly cease, but merely manifest differently. Reminding us that our life force is ever changing, just like a light. Something we believe to have control over, but ultimately something that will always exist and travel, regardless of our attempts to manipulate its true existence. Because of light we can fly. And because of energy, we have light. That pure light can be a part of each of us, if we only turn on the switch and accept that it's been there all along.