73 – Candles *

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I like walking on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

We lit candles to accompany dinner last night. Just two inexpensive candlesticks – each stuck into a coffee cup with sand. As we ate to a pleasant flickering glow, I had an ah-ha moment followed by a smile because I determined my topic for today’s beach walk.

A candle seems so simple, a mass of wax surrounding a braided central wick drawing its fuel from the melted wax upward to its tip. A wick that is burning slow enough that we don’t notice it getting shorter.

A candle has a flame showing a range of colors from cream to orange shining in all directions as halos in the dark. A flame providing just enough light to see through the darkness – just enough light for ambiance. A candle mimicking the outside twilight that is fighting the approaching darkness. When dinner is over, outside will be dark, but within the walls will be twilight.

A candle whose fuel-providing wax can be molded into many shapes and accept synthetic oils to deliver an environment rich in pine, vanilla, rainforests, sea breezes, baked goods, cinnamon, lavender, and countless more. Scents for adding atmosphere and/or masking odors.

Candles are the light of tabletops, candle holders, sconces, candelabras, chandeliers, jars, tea lights, and more. We find candles in a variety of shapes, such as tapered sticks, cylinders, and a wide assortment of expressions.

Candles are the light of relaxation, romance, commemoration, hope, courage, remembrance, and festivals. The light of freshness, quiet, calm, and peace – of warmth, kindness, and gentleness.

Candles are a simple display of light – one light shining in the darkness as a future idea or a memory – a light flickering as a continuous dance that doesn’t repeat movements.

My mind reminds me of a few candles I enjoy. The single candle in each window of a house as I walk the neighborhood to see Christmas light displays. Yes, that house with one candle in each front window has a way of outshining extravagance.

I think about our Christmas Eve church service – the electric lights off, and the light of one candle turns into a flickering sea of peace and goodwill to the music of Silent Night. A candle may be one, but in a sea of ones, it is a special moment.

Whereas a single candle can light many, I also enjoy how mirrors can convert a single candle into a seemingly infinite number of lights.

I think about how an English candlemaker and an Irish soapmaker settled in Cincinnati, married sisters, then formed a company that eventually became a global domestic product giant. Yes, candles remind me of Procter & Gamble.

There is a degree of uncertainty in a candle’s wavering flame – but I wonder how many ways we can apply that analogy to life? In good times we associate candles with birthday cake, symbols of shining hope for the year ahead – a wish and a puff – and then the light is gone, but part of that candle remains in us. In bad times, candles represent loss, strife, and the need for comfort, remembrance, and support of the troubled, the ill, the missing, and the dead.

Being by the sea reminds me that a lighthouse along a coast acts as a single candle guiding sailors into a safe harbor and keeping them safe from rocky shores – just like a single candle of home delivering reassurance,

Here I am, walking on a warm, sunny day thinking about candles in a nighttime setting. Yet, as I stare across the water, I notice the bright blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds and scattered wispy streaks. The brightness comes from our sun – our huge candle in the sky with a giant central wick embedded into a ball fueled by hydrogen instead of wax.

Candles are warm glows providing calm. Whether flicking in a quiet room on a dark winter night or illuminating the joys of friends gathering around a table of food, drink, and conversation – whether pronouncing the joys of a birthday cake or light for a special memory – I think we all agree that candles are special – and for me, candles provided good fodder to ponder as I walk. After all, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have written about oneness

• Light a Candle (poem of remembrance by a visitor here)
• You May Not Tallow These Candle Facts (essay)
• Scented Candle (poem)
• Badass Adventure at Dollarama: drag queen edition (crafts by an occasional visitor here)
• Candle Light (poem)

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