I couldn’t see into the dark until I got a brighter candle.

Enmeshed in the fear and death of the Corona virus and crushed by the weight of ongoing murders of black men and women,  I have found it difficult to breathe – to see beyond the moment – to see beyond my own pain and fear. I have been so caught up in my own world that I forgot there were others who had pain. Others who were afraid. Others who were in their own dark.

And then, suddenly, light came. It was small at first, unexpected. So many waited for an answer they were afraid to hear. The “no” that would once again declare a group of people as unwanted. Others, the “no” that said you could be fired from a job for simply being who you are.

But something wonderful happened. Something surprising as the Supreme Court unexpectedly voted 6 to 3 that those in the Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transgender community could not be fired simply for being who they are. It is a rule that should not have existed. An indignity that should never have been felt. But it was. And now, finally, it is gone. And because that transgression has been removed, my candle – our candles – have grown brighter.

It’s easy to forget the struggles of others when you are struggling yourself. And easier still if you have few struggles at all.  But when we are caught up solely in our own worlds, our lights go dim and our capacity to care can become small.

This victory. This very-key victory gives us all the chance to see a larger, brighter world. It gives us a chance to shine.