Only light can drive out darkness

It’s difficult to find words poignant enough to honor someone as remarkable as Martin Luther King, Jr. His life and death represent so much more than the man himself. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to take a few minutes to sit in silence and reflect on the legacy of MLK, Jr. In doing so, we can find the courage to speak our truth, the motivation to never give up on our dreams, and the light within us that can drive out the darkness.

Many of us may find it difficult to relate to the tumultuous time of the civil rights movement because we have not experienced the violence, segregation and outright hatred that older generations did. Even if we are uncomfortable discussing it, we cannot deny that racism still exists and in many different forms. Today, we must fight against the complacency of believing that our work is done.

When hatred exists in our hearts and minds (and we all struggle with this), we will not experience true peace. Let us be conscious of our thoughts. Are we judging and criticizing others? That’s a form of hate. Are we insistent on proving someone else is wrong in order to prove that we are right? That’s a form of hate. Are we shaming or humiliating others in an attempt to get them to behave differently? That’s a form of hate. Are we focused on comparing ourselves to others? That’s a form of hate. Let’s choose LOVE instead.

No one is perfect. Neither was Martin Luther King, Jr. We’re all human. We’re all divinely equal in our greatness and our weakness. Even when we fall into the trap of hateful thoughts towards ourselves and others (and it happens to all of us every single day), we don’t have to stay there. In any given moment, we can choose differently. When we focus on love, it not only expands within our own hearts, it expands to the world.

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love and light,
​Heather