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Light In A Dark Hall

2 min read
[I was reminded of this story during last night's Awakin Circle.]

One time, I was with a bunch of strangers in India. I was giving a presentation, and power went out. It was in a dark hall, and I was with two other colleagues. I was so embarrassed because we had invited all these people here. It was a public talk, and we couldn't do anything about it. Our mic was gone. There was no light. Everyone's sitting here in darkness, and I was just like, "Oh my goodness."

You know, when the power goes out, you feel like you should be in control of it, because you're hosting the event. I was so embarrassed, and we just kept going on, talking in the dark, hoping people would stay. It was really ridiculous. I mean, there were no windows. Nothing. It was a dark hall.

All of a sudden, a man in the back put up his phone, and put the little light from his phone on.

Two more people.

Three people.

Then, the whole audience of people come on, and everyone was shining their light of their phone on us. It lit up the whole hall.

And so I got out my phone and took a picture of everyone with their light shining at me:



It was the most beautiful scene -- a feeling that we're all in this together. That it's not anyone's fault, we're just all here, and we're all supporting each other.

It was the most beautiful feeling of love from strangers I'd ever experienced.
Posted by Theresa Pathak on February 4, 2021
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Community Reflections

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7 Reflections shared

Meghna Banker Feb 4, 2021
:)) This is so awesome!!!! I can totally picture a star lit sky without the moon, as Vinoba ji would say :)
Kerri Lake Feb 4, 2021
I can feel the kindness in the room through the story. 😊 It’s so beautiful!!
Fran Faraz Feb 4, 2021
What an amazing story. I'll share it with others. I'm so inspired.
Stephanie Nash Feb 4, 2021
Thank you for sharing - for it's literal as well as metaphorical example of shining a light as support.
Conor Feb 5, 2021
Theresa,
You shone out like a shaft of gold when all around was dark. Well done.
Conor McNulty
Richard Whittaker Feb 12, 2021
Thank you so much for sharing this inspiring story. I mean, it's quite special...
Steven Crisp May 14, 2024
That's such a good story. So true ... it's nobody's "fault". We're all in this together.

It's our collective responsibility! And each one of us, offers our small single light, by itself, not enough. But it is a signal, a beacon even, that can help to encourage, motivate, even wake up, another. And then another, and another. There really is no other way.

There is no "them"; no outside agency, that is solely responsible for the current moment. It is us. It is me. It just is.

Let us all do our small part, with love and caring, to help light that candle rather than curse the darkness. Thank you for this reminder!

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