Over the weekend, a billion people around the world celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Growing up in India, Diwali was a huge deal for me. New clothes, big fireworks, mountains of Indian sweets. And a sugar coma that lasted at least a week.
More recently, though, it’s been quieter. Lighting the lamp at sunset. Gathering with family and friends to eat fresh, home-cooked food. And returning to a lesser-known meaning that has stuck with me ever since my dad told me about it 20 years ago (and that Preetibala Sharma brought to her Instagram followers this year).
You don’t have to celebrate Diwali for it to resonate, which is why I want to share it today.
Diwali always falls on a moonless night. The darkest night of the month, the night of the new moon. In Vedic astrology, this is also the time when the sun is at its weakest.
Both of the lights we count on, dimmed at once.
And that’s the night we light the lamp.
We don’t wait for the darkness to pass. Or for someone to bring the light back for us.
We strike the match ourselves, right where we are, with what we have.
All of us go through our own dark nights. Seasons where the people, the plans and the certainty we lean on feel very far away. Maybe you’re facing one now.
And even then, especially then, remember that you get to choose. You have the power to strike that match. To light that lamp.
Happy Diwali!