I call this project, “Lights Out”.
Lights went out at my house Wed. pm because the rest of the weeknights I had plans that needed electricity. I hurried up after dinner to clean up, see my wife out the door to her class, and get a phone call in while I could still see the keys on the phone and before the sun set completely. I barely made it, getting out my wife’s “Tea lights” which are these little plastic votive candle look- alikes that run on batteries, but still flicker like a candle. (I don’t trust myself or my puppy-like dog with actual lit candles in the house). I set them up in most of the rooms and proceeded to do a couple of chores in the dim light that they produce, much less than an actual candle. I did my cat boxes and put a few things away, and one of the first things I noticed was how quiet it actually was. I sat down and started to read and work on a different project. Holding the tea light close to the page, it wasn't easy to see, but then, I got used to it. And I found I was very productive because I had no distractions visibly or audibly. When I finished, I grabbed a cookie and sat on the couch. I felt very calm and peaceful, and I reflected on what life must have been like in the past when electricity wasn't missed, and how life was probably better socially. I felt I could hear myself better, which is maybe true because I was in a place of acceptance about being in the dark. I wanted to be, and was glad I was doing the project, getting through it, but not wishing anything was different. I could say I was having fun because it wasn't forced on me, it was by choice. But eventually, I got too relaxed, maybe a little bored, and I lay down on the couch. The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by my spouse coming home. I went to bed immediately to avoid the possibility of her wanting to watch TV with me there. She knew by the tea lights that I was doing my project, so she voluntarily joined me. In fact, she liked the idea, the authenticity of it, I think. She suggested we do it again soon. I did think again before going to sleep about the better intimacy people in those old days possibly had with their family, their own selves and their God. I later wrote the following poem:
In the dark, in the quiet, under the stars,
You meet yourself; have to face the inner self,
Find out who you really are.
In the days of old, way back when, the small town type folk,
Who where just about everyone and anyone,
They lived in the daylight, and shared by candlelight
Until their bodies gave in...Until the rooster crowed again.
And by the candlelight, when there’s not much to do,
People talked, and went for strolls,
And when they walked,
And always ran in to you-know-who,
It was a genuine, “Glad to see you”.
And those days must have seemed shorter,
But the whole life was lived longer.
Cause in the dark,
You get to know the real you,
Maybe it’s art, or music
Maybe it’s writing, who knows.
Maybe it’s talking or learning
You discover, this is what I’m
Meant to do. And I bet,
Way back when, families’ ties
Must have been stronger, living with less stuff,
Love probably survived
Much longer, cause everyone talked,
Everyone thought more about others, isn’t that true?
I have an older brother, who is not of this
Time zone. He prefers manual tools,
Building log cabins and for him,
Its 100 years too late to be born.
He still walks everywhere,
Has no car, so he doesn’t go far, but he doesn’t care.
He did travel, when he was young, he went to Montana,
Lived in Alaska and home was here and there.
But he’s older you see, walked much more than me,
and knows that it is much simpler
To simply live without a car or a TV.
So...I recently tried it, turned out the lights, all my electricity, and
Simply sat in the quiet… and I’ll be.
If I didn’t come to like it. I could hear
The stillness, and feel the fullness and
The life come back into me. I wanted to talk,
And take a walk into the night. I wanted to share,
And find out who’s really in there, I mean, in me.
So, for now on, I decided,
To do more of this pleasantry.
Do I sound old fashioned? Maybe I do.
But I’ll bet if you tried it, turn out the lights more
And just sit, with the candle and the quiet
You will also see, in the dark you can see
It’s more than just waiting
For me.
It’s for us too.
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