Shining Light on Our Collective Shadow
It was the poet William Stafford who, decades ago, reminded us that the darkness around us is deep, making it easy to get lost in that sea of despair John Lewis warned against, all the while encouraging us to make some noise and get in good trouble. So then, still refusing to turn away, I will continue to shine Light Waves of hope (and maybe sometimes just light) when, where, and however I can, knowing it is impossible to touch on it all.
As I often do when putting together my Light Waves, I review some of what I’ve posted in the past and find there are lots of words I’ve used before that are just as suitable today as they were then. The paragraph above is a good example. It originated on August 13th, 2025 when I opened with a humorously double-edged image.
With so much happening all at once, so fast, so furiously, it is impossible to even come close to touching on it all. More crazy talk from the occupant of the oval office, production of a movie you couldn’t pay me enough to sit through, adorable five-year-olds being used as bait, and of course, another murder. I am not turning away from the shameful fact that Americans are being murdered in our streets in broad daylight by those who claim to be “protecting” us. Their names, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, need to be spoken often and loud, and they are. The streets of America are alive today with outpourings of anger and outrage and courage and true love for this country of ours which we hope we’re not too late to save.
So today … knowing you don’t have time or energy to read every word or follow every link, I want to share a sampling … a buffet table of what I hope will feed those parts of us that are hungry for light and hope in dark times. Let’s see what happens when we stir the pot. A little of this, a little of that … a song, a poem, an image, a thought-provoking essay, video, maybe even a bit of humor. I invite you to pick and choose. Where to start? How about this gentle reminder from Sara Thomsen?
And this … from Julia Fehrenbacher’s January 27th Substack post …
While we’re on the subject of children, I invite you to check out Mark Moore, who founded MANA Nutrition in 2009. Today, it’s one of the world’s largest producers of therapeutic food, nourishing over 8 million children across 45 countries. But Mark sees something deeper. The children MANA serves aren’t just hungry–they’re so depleted they’ve lost the hunger signal itself. “Once you cease to be hungry, you’re in trouble. You’re dying,” he says. And amid material abundance, he recognizes the same condition in us: “People are so malnourished spiritually that they’ve ceased to be hungry.” On January 24th, AWAKIN.ORG hosted Mark in a webinar titled “Toward Nourishment for All: Feeding Body & Spirit.” You might want to take a look.
The New Republic on January 22nd had an interesting take on a recent speech, titled Trump Takes His American Decline Tour to Davos: In a sad and seedy music-hall performance, a senile autocrat rages against the dimming of his country’s light, as well as his own. Well said, Timothy Noah. Thank you for likening the above-mentioned speech to Laurence Olivier’s performance of Archie Rice in the 1960 film, “The Entertainer”. It was brilliant …. and enlightening. A provocative read if you’re interested.
If you do take time to read it, you will see Noah’s reference to the truly magnificent (and heartfelt) speech by our neighbor, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. It’s offered by Robert Reich in his January 21st post, titled “O Canada”.
Speaking of Canada … did you know that Margaret Atwood’s long-awaited and incredibly long memoir has finally been published? Here again, it’s a TNR review (also 1.22) that sheds light on this 86-year-old Canadian rascal of a writer whose Handmaid’s Tale still chills me to the bone. As a long-time Atwood fan, I found this comment surprising and intriguing. “It’s notable that Atwood spends so long dwelling on others’ criticism of her but devotes so little space to a significant relationship with another major writer. Her friendship with Alice Munro is relegated to a single paragraph.” Hmmnn.
And while we’re on the subject of creative Canadians, let me take a minute to recommend Louise Penny’s last two novels, The Grey Wolf and The Black Wolf. Personal Hint: Don’t skip the Grey if you want to understand what’s happening in the Black. I don’t know how she does it The Black Wolf was on the publisher’s desk months before our last presidential election …
and yet …
But why stop with Canada? While Portland, Oregon may have its Frogs and Chickens, Greenland has Polar Bears & Walruses. If you haven’t experienced The Greenland Defense Front anthem yet, here’s your chance. An ‘epic’ AI-generated video shows polar bears, walruses and Inuit spirits uniting to defend Greenland from Trump threats. My favorite line is “We’ve dealt with worse before.” The video, which incorporates satire, memes and a protest anthem into a heartwarming spectacle, is going viral. AI really outdid itself on this one!
There is this from Robert Arnold, who, in his gentle voice, speaks of Alex Pretti’s death as a bridge too far … not just a tragedy, but a test; one where history will remember how many people failed it quietly by standing still and in silence. I have to admit feeling knocked back a bit to hear him say “And if this is what you stand for, if this is what you defend, if this is what you excuse or cheer or wave away as necessary, then stop calling yourself a defender of the American ideal. Stop wrapping yourself in its language. Stop borrowing its symbols. You are not standing for liberty, or law, or the Constitution. You are standing for power unchecked and conscience abandoned. And if that is your allegiance, then be honest about it. Stop calling yourself Americans. Call yourself something else. Because America was never meant to belong to those who would trade its soul for order, its children for obedience, or its citizens for silence.”
And then another poet’s voice we like to think of as gentle too. Here is Wendell Berry’s challenging poem, “Questionnaire”.
Questionnaire
by Wendell BerryHow much poison are you willing
to eat for the success of the free
market and global trade? Please
name your preferred poisons.For the sake of goodness, how much
evil are you willing to do?
Fill in the following blanks
with the names of your favorite
evils and acts of hatred.What sacrifices are you prepared
to make for culture and civilization?
Please list the monuments, shrines,
and works of art you would
most willingly destroyIn the name of patriotism and
the flag, how much of our beloved
land are you willing to desecrate?
List in the following spaces
the mountains, rivers, towns, farms
you could most readily do without.State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes,
the energy sources, the kinds of security;
for which you would kill a child.
Name, please, the children whom
you would be willing to kill.
And finally, this …. until next time. May a song be somewhere to begin. Much Love to Us All,
Sulima
Buying me an occasional coffee helps me keep these stories coming … and gives me one less reason to cross my fingers when my Social Security payment is due!
