This morning it was overcast making the
bathroom dark and dingy. Instead of my usual practice of turning on a light, I
grabbed three candles from the collection at the foot of the bath. Rummaging in
a drawer, I found the matches and lit them, creating a yellow glow against the
grey slate of the bathroom tiles.
As I stepped into the shower, I wondered
why, this morning, I felt the need to light this dark day with candles. Then I
realised that it was ‘a dark day’ in more ways than one. This morning I had
read that police had arrested and charged a man with Jill Meagher’s rape and
murder.
Which led me to consider why at times like
these we resort to candles. We use candles for happy occasions such as
birthdays and dinner parties. And practical reasons like during blackouts. But we also use them for candlelight vigils and
to light in churches for those who have passed away. Maybe because the warm
glow of candlelight is a comfort. It enables us to create beauty in a world
where we have been confronted with terror and grief. The simple light of a
candle enables us to reclaim some authority over the pain that would weaken and
reduce us to being too fearful to leave our homes. A lit candle turns the
harshness of a dark room into something softer, something we might be able to
manage.
So, light a candle—for Jill Meagher; for
her family; for someone you’ve lost; for yourself. But most of all, light one
because you can and they’re beautiful.
