{"id":4148,"date":"2014-12-15T17:57:10","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T22:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefest.com\/kdstaging2\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2014-12-15T18:01:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T23:01:20","slug":"get-you-to-the-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/get-you-to-the-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Get You to the Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can both overhead lights in my kitchen burn out at the same time? Las Vegas odds, and yet this morning, my workspace (the place where I wrap and box up my John Lennon Series books for mailing) was completely dark.
\n 
\nAt first, I was aggravated. And yeah, a little depressed.
\n 
\nYou see, I have SAD syndrome (Sensory Affective Disorder) and so the first thing I do each morning is turn on every single light in the rooms where I\u2019m gonna be hanging out. It\u2019s so illuminated around here that my sister once acridly observed, \u201cOh I get it. You want your house to look just like the lobby of Homewood Suites.\u201d
\n 
\nYep, that\u2019s about right.
\n 
\nBut this morning, as I stood in the dim haze of my inconveniently dull workspace, it hit me. I was being given a gift\u2026my blog theme for The Fest for Beatles Fans! I stood there quietly, and I mulled.
\n 
\nThis is what I heard:
\n 
\nDecember is all about The Light. Hanukkah is The Miracle of the Lights\u2026the inexplicable phenomenon of light continuing to pierce the darkness when every scientific fact dictated that the darkness should\u2019ve prevailed. Hanukkah is the triumph of the Unknown over Known. Hanukkah is the victory of Light over darkness.
\n 
\nAnd Christmas is the birth of that Light. As the writer John phrased it so long ago: \u201cThat Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.\u201d
\n 
\nAnother writer named John \u2013 a handsome, young man from Liverpool, England \u2013 wrote about the Light as well. He said, \u201cWhatever gets you to the Light, is all right, all right!\u201d And hey guys…he wasn\u2019t talking about G. E. replacement bulbs, and we all know it.
\n 
\nHe was addressing the miracle of that which pushes away the murky existence that lingers where all hope is lost.
\n 
\nDecember houses the shortest day of the year \u2013 the 21st of December \u2013 the day of least light shed on humans in all 365. At this time of year, many, many people struggle with depression as they try to ward off the scientific effects of a shadowy world.
\n 
\nBut John Lennon, cavortin\u2019 on stage with Elton John (another John!) in a concert that ultimately changed his fate forever, shouted in his rocker\u2019s voice for us to seek the light, to \u201cmake it through the night,\u201d to keep looking for ways to overcome the darkness.
\n 
\nAny other pursuit, he told us, was a waste of time. (\u201cDon\u2019t need a watch to waste your time,\u201d he belted out, tongue in cheek. And John Lennon meant it. He knew about limited mortality (see his song, \u201cBorrowed Time\u201d). He knew about years well spent. John urged us to spend each day wisely.
\n 
\nLook\u2026you can attach many meanings to this month\u2026you can make it all about baking or shopping or creating d\u00e9cor or partying or traveling or inviting friends into your home. You can make it about clothes or trees or garlands or Frosty the Snowman. But the essence of the holidays is The Light.
\n 
\nThe Maccabees on that gloomy hilltop knew it. John, that long-ago writer of the Book of John, knew it. And John the latter \u2013 our very own John Lennon \u2013 knew it. His final days were spent purchasing scores of books about spirituality, seeking out sages and religious leaders to ask questions, and spending hours of serious contemplation about life\u2019s meaning.
\n 
\nHe was seeking the Light. And it was, in fact, \u201call right, all right.\u201d
\n 
\nWith that in mind, I\u2019m off to find replacement bulbs. All other tasks this morning can wait. \u201cBet my money and my life\u201d\u2026I can do this. December, the Maccabees, and John have set me on a mission. I\u2019m off to seek the Light.
\n 
\nClick here<\/a> to listen to John\u2019s song…
\n 
\nJude Southerland Kessler is the Author of The John Lennon Series<\/strong><\/em>
\n 
\nhttp:\/\/www.johnlennonseries.com
\n 
\nFollow Jude on Twitter @JudeKessler
\n 
\nFollow Jude on Facebook here<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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