Between Heaven + Earth: Susan Gross

Something about walking in the neighborhood each day is rejuvenating. In the spring, I watch as neighbors’ trees and flowers start to bud. In the summer, the smell of freshly mowed grass makes me smile. Autumn’s multicolored falling leaves are accompanied by the whiff of wood smoke as neighbors light their fireplaces before yielding to turning on their furnaces. But walking in the weeks before Christmas may be my favorite season.

By Advent, the days already are shorter. We wake up in the dark, and the dark descends in the afternoon as we return home from work, school or activities. Growing up in Texas where sunlight is ever-present, I didn’t realize until I moved away that the grayness of winter days often inched into my outlook, turning me just as somber. In the dark days of winter, somehow the world seems darker, too. To cope, I started to look for the light. Sometimes, the light comes from people – smiles from friends or strangers or laughter shared with friends and relatives. Other times, I see light in a discovery or a celebration. However, one of the easiest ways to find light is to walk in my neighborhood at dusk. The brightly colored lights cut through the darkness. To me, the twinkling brightness symbolizes the joy and goodness in the world. But most of all, the lights send a message of hope, that light will always overcome the darkness. We all need that hope.

Photo from Washington Post.