Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary indicates that light is what makes vision possible. It is sensation aroused by the stimulation of the visual receptors. It is electromagnetic radiation that travels in a vacuum with a speed of about 186,281 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second. This is light.

Light, from an emotional standpoint, provides a reasoning capacity to make stretches with the imagination from point "A" to indeterminate lengths and breadths. Light illuminates, with humankind operating multi-dimensionally for deepest benefits. While darkness is opposite light, dark engenders light-based reasoning.

Said German poet and dramatist Bertholt Brecht (1898-1956): "Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are." Toward these ends, light influences destiny by illuminating action to be taken for a clearer meaning, purpose and greater understanding of matters. To move from darkness to light is an automatic quest.

These seven illustrations were provided by The Associated Press, Financial Times and other news outlets in making reference to how light might emerge out of dark-like situations since most could be altered into positives:

1. "A privately-run Atlanta public school acts as a virtual prison that subjects students to routine body searches, leaves them unprotected against violence and fails to educate them, all in violation of the United States and Georgia constitutions."

2. "Protesters gathered at an abandoned military site in Canberra, Australia, to prevent the planned killing of 400 kangaroos blamed for ruining the habitat of rare lizards and insects."

3. "America's fastest-growing crime could be a nightmare if one is not protected. What today's sophisticated identity thieves steal in just seconds could feel like an eternity to correct. More than 9 million victims are affected."

4. "Beyond 2008, and working with 'best case' and 'realistic-moderate' scenarios, the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion - perhaps even more by 2017."

5. "Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. This economic shift is beginning to affect middle-income working families as well as the economically poor."

6. Many small business owners fear an Internal Revenue Service audit, but the reality is that relatively few will ever have to go through an examination of their books and invoices and receipts. Be careful about deducting too much for entertainment or home-office expenses."

7. "Having a big belly can cloud the brain, boosting the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later." (online journal Neurology)

Said American journalist Dorothy Thompson (1894-1961). "Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." Since we are not privileged to run from most situations that visit humankind, what is important is how we respond to unfavorable situations.

Live life to the extent possible in that all is not sweetness and light. Dark times will surround us. But darkness is a time to dare, to motivate, to inspire and to lead. Use darkness to usher in light.

Reach T&D Columnist Howard D. Hill, Ph.D., via e-mail at educationconsultant@sc.rr.com

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