I’m a photographer and lighting is a big deal in my business.  Have you ever noticed how an object is at it’s most beautiful when the light is turned down a notch?  Fall foliage is undeniably eye candy on a bluebird day, but it gets even better…more intense, warmer… during sunrise and sunset.  I particularly loved an overcast day to capture the color, or if it’s a sunny day to shoot the leaf from the backside or underside.  Dialing down the light makes for a better photo.

The same goes for sound.  Too loud and we can’t hear.  Remember those concerts where the sound was at full blast, the speakers shaking and fuzzing and you had to literally shout in your friends ear for them to (maybe) hear you?  How was this helpful?  Why did we have to numb and even hurt ourselves?  All it meant was that you couldn’t hear anymore.

In today’s political climate what I find so disheartening is the great divide within our nation feels like it’s getting even greater.  Is that perception?  Is that reality?  All I know is that we are getting too loud.  We are getting too bright (and I’m not talking about intelligence).  I keep hoping that the majority of Americans are not nearly as divided as our elected officials, but I’m starting to lose hope on that as well.  There was a time in our country (Lexi’s professor at Hamilton refers to it as the Golden Age, post WW2 through the early 70’s.), when our Republicans were far more liberal and our Democrats were far more conservative and they knew how to get business done.  There were disagreements, certainly, but they were far more aligned and far less vitriolic than our politicians today.  They held one another in higher esteem.  Respect was still a thing.

If I had to pick a sole reason for why we have arrived at the place we have in our society, I think it boils down to respect, one might even be bold enough to say love and the lack thereof.  I’m sure there are other reasons we could identify, but respect means we are mindful of one another.  It means we don’t come from a place of hatred.  We listen and work together toward a common goal. There are a number of definitions for respect, but the one I liked best from Merriam-Webster was “to consider worthy of high regard”.  Synonyms for respect include: appreciation, awe, consideration, esteem, honor, regard, reverence.  Hmmmm.  I definitely see none of that from our political and cultural leaders.  Antonyms for respect include: irreverence, disdain, contempt, scorn, disparagement.  Yup.  That resonates.  Sadly. No wonder we are feeling frustrated, sad, scared and a bit hopeless.

Remember that old adage that says “you are what you eat”?  While I don’t know if that’s still considered true in the physical sense, I definitely consider it a certainty in the spiritual sense…we are what we think. What we consume.  Some time ago, I read a lovely book entitled “365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life” by John Kralik.  If I didn’t believe an attitude of gratitude and good thoughts could change our outcomes before reading this book, well then I was certainly presented with compelling evidence afterwards…not that I ever doubted it.  This belief, however, has been bolstered over the last two, almost three years now.  In spite of the challenges, sadnesses, realities I’ve faced, it has been a true gift to myself to move forward with the most grateful of hearts.  It has been noted by friends how I have traveled through my trials with grace and strength.  I don’t know if that’s true or not because I’ve never looked at it that way, but if so, it’s because of my faith and my regular thanksgiving for all the blessings I DO have. This is the place where the volume and light are just right.  A place of grace.

Most of us bristle at the bright light and loud noise coming at us from our society.  When that happens, it means we are not absorbing, we are blocking out.  We are squinting and our ears are numb.  There is no possibility for productivity because we can’t see and we can’t hear.  Newsflash.  We don’t have to follow our leaders lead.  This has to be a grassroots project.  We need to start at home.  Treat each other with the dignity and respect with which we wish to be treated.  Think about the implications if everyone did that.  It, in some cases, will be a major challenge.  But accepting challenge is a worthy endeavor.  Challenge is the spice of life.  Challenge IS life.  Let’s live it.  Life is so much better with the volume and the lights dimmed a notch.  Instead of blocking each other, how about absorbing each other.  Let’s turn it down.