What Are We Waiting For?

In the past, there was a tradition of placing a candle or a light in the window if a loved one was traveling.  Guest houses would also do this, letting the weary traveler know there was lodging within that particular dwelling. As a child, we lit candles (electric ones) in the windows.  We also lit candles on an Advent Wreath. When I asked why we did this, the answer was,"to show we are waiting."  

Now, we are in the middle of the Season of Light and Love.  Many people from many different cultures are lighting candles and fires of various types or will be soon. If we look back to the traditions from whence these rituals came, we find that the lighting has to do with expectation, with welcome, with hope.

Expectation, welcome, and hope are empty when we have no idea what it is we are waiting for, welcoming in or hoping to have happen. Therefore, my question is still, "What are we waiting for?"

If we are waiting for Peace, for Love, for Light to return to the world, then we must do something to help bring these things to ourselves, our families, our communities, and eventually, to the world. 

Gandhi is quoted as saying, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.” 

Obama put it in different words, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." 

What are we waiting for?  Let's go together and find it.

Namasté!