"There is light at the end of the tunnel" Anonymous Proverb
My first recollection of the saying(s) was packaged by Toy Story, when those cutesy little green monsters collectively screamed “We see the light!” (I think it was Toy Story). At that time, boyish as I was, I likened it to a the world around me – a train shooting out of a tunnel, the haunting glow of an angler fish in deep sea… even the blinding flash of fluorescence when my parents turned the lights on me playing console games at 2am the morning before school – with the physical and metaphysical accompaniment of awe, dread and wonderment that such circumstances evoked. Sometimes it was all feelings simultaneously, which got a bit messy...
As I grew up (not older), the meanings… evolved. Comic-like appeal was traded for brooding contemplation on the significance and metaphorical utility of light and its corresponding darkness. Feelings were no longer nebulous and reactive, but driven by hope and, to an extent, self-determinism. I bemused myself with the discovery that ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’ is simply the fulfilment of a goal and the rewards that we stand to reap from pursuing it. But what do we put value to? What goals truly illuminate our heart?
I then thought that if light embodies the journey’s end, then what stands between us and our goals? Darkness? But what is darkness? Darkness is not an entity, it is merely a concept to explain the absence of light. So, what stands between us and our goals? After much contemplation (and accompanying confectionery to provide food for thought) I concluded that the majority obstacles (minor ones would make the explanation too long) are the lack of instantaneous reward and minimal desire to work for it. Things that exist in our imagination. Quite trivial, isn’t it? Yet you’d be amazed at the number of people who never question how they do things... or don’t (read: very few people). Leading me to my conclusion:
Ignorance is not bliss. It is a deadweight that leeches you of your right to Life.
Ignorance is the bundle deal of everything we choose to see as irrelevant, even if it isn't. It is a most insidious form of egotism that appeals to our knowledge of self (even if we have none). Isn’t that the suicidal beauty of perception? It permits one to live out their fairytale life even while the reality around them continues to fester and decompose. And ignorance boils down to perspective, doesn’t it? Reality doesn’t have a favoured emotion or standpoint, it merely a snapshot of things as they are. But perspective is what happens to reality after we process it with our fears and desires, filter out the portions irrelevant or threatening to ourselves, and add a dash of our own unique spices into the mix.
The physiotherapist in me says, “This is pure theory. What is the functional impact?” If ignorance shapes perspective, then it dictates what we see. Maybe we are facing the wrong way? Maybe we are imagining a light that does not exist. Maybe we don’t even understand the light that we see!
While perspective lets you to see the light, mentality is what allows you to walk towards it. I am a huge proponent of realistic optimism. I have breathed it, walked it and courted it for several years now. And I believe that my life – its careers, friendships, revelations, reflections, inspirations – all reflect my conviction that nothing is impossible… without God. Where do YOU stand in terms of mentality? Is the glass-half-empty or half-full? How does that affect the way you see the light at the end of your tunnel? Do you find it worth running towards? Maybe you want to sit down and wait for it to come to you? Sing songs to take your mind off the darkness? As far as metaphors go, the implications of this one are endless…
Let’s talk about distance. I am here, the light is… there. But it’s all mind games. You can see the light. You can feel the warmth as its guiding rays caress your skin. What you sense is the promise of rewards that emanates from the very source itself. Given this perspective, one must also realise that the light is not just at the end of the tunnel, but in fact it permeates throughout. How fundamentally awesome is that!?
How does this relate to me? I live for my God, the God of the Old and New Testament of the Holy Bible, which is infallible in its recording and is verified by secular/independent means. I live for the purpose stipulated by this Book, which is to bring the love of God to ALL the nations of the world… starting in my backyard. Can [evolutionary] science claim such a noble or selfless cause? Or even the wealth of evidence to back it up? I think not.
Summarily… everybody has their own tunnels to navigate. Some might be stuck in a rather straightforward subway, while others maunder through what might seem to be an endless rabbit warren. There is ONLY one true path to the light… depending on what you believe your purpose in life is. And to achieve the light, you need to work for it. But you do not work alone – by virtue of the fact that you can perceive the light, you know that its promises already surround you.
A tunnel full of light? I sure hope you see it that way, too.
Excerpt from DC Talk’s “In The Light”
“I wanna be in the light
As you are IN the light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens!
Oh, lord be my light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the light
All I want is to be in the light”
In Faith, Hope and Love!
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