Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, Is coming to a close.  I know there is a story behind the yearly observance, a story of heroes and miracles and community, but I usually just dwell on the image of the menorah and the ritual of lighting one additional candle every night of the week.

I just celebrated my birthday the end of November.  During a get together, my friends indulged my wish to top my cake with a sparkler like the one we saw recently presented by the waiters at a Mexican restaurant to a patron, also celebrating her birthday.

Witnessing the sparkler’s streams of dancing light traveling along its short path filled me with inexplicable joy.

Every day and night, when I walk with my dog up and down the surrounding blocks, I take time to marvel at the Christmas decorations.

Whether tiny white icicle lights hanging from awnings or densely strung lights placed with care around wire frames of reindeers, giving the illusion of shape and flesh, I joke with myself that the answer to the question:

What is the greatest invention since fire?…

Is, of course…PORTABLE fire.

I don’t usually give this much thought, but it’s so great that I can enjoy small and concentrated sources of illumination…

Fire, TO GO.

Yes, fires can be warming, but I’m really taken by illumination; the power to GIVE light.

From incandescent bulbs to scented candles, these objects are usually described in the language of gratitude. They GIVE light.

When I got my first smart phone, I could have been giddy about its ability to create an address book entry automatically when someone called me or texted me.

But no, I was still not sold on why it was better than the basic mobile phone I used until I was shamed into retiring it, not until someone pointed out to me how to use the flashlight function.

Ah yes, well that’s pretty cool, I had to admit.

I appreciate reading lights because they enable me to explore the imagination of a writer well into the night.  I think it’s great having a light over my kitchen sink even though it reminds me that I need to clean the drain trap.

I love my new pendant light that hangs over the dining room table.  Yes, it complements the decor of the room, but it’s also on a dimmer switch and helps create a wonderful atmosphere for sharing a meal.

Fire to go, in the form of electric lights or gas lights, have practical benefits.

My car’s headlights allows me to see far enough ahead of me so that I can navigate while driving at night.  Street lamps make me feel safe when I’m walking in my neighborhood after dusk.

Seeing a light in the window of a restaurant or store reassures me that the business is open; that I can satisfy my hunger and get something to eat or can complete an errand.

But, my special fondness for small sources of illumination is spiritual.

In my own understanding of life and the cosmos,  there is only one light, the light of consciousness.  And everybody shares that light.  The same light is in everyone and everything.

We might all have different talents and different dreams, different ways our personal light can shine on earth, but we all carry the same inner light.

When I see small flashes of light, whether at a candlelight vigil, or gazing at the stars, or at a crowded stadium where fans are engaging cigarette lighters to coax a performer into offering an encore, I think about how tiny bits of light only appear to have broken away from the ONE LIGHT.

Everything and everybody is actually ONE.

Remembering that the spark of life is in each one of us, and that each one of us is charged with bringing our personal light forward–and that this serves all of life–is no small thing.