Back in 2017, I wrote the post ‘Hope Defeats Fear, Every Time‘.
Lately, it feels more and more relevant than before. Some of this post is borrowed from my original, hence the “refrain” in the title.
In the previous post, I had written about my experience in a candlelight vigil. Several years later, I’ve found that vigils are still powerful to witness. It’s hard to put in words. It’s the heaviness of the air, the quiet movement of shuffled feet.
More so, it’s the feeling of community.
Vigils are always an emotional event. People gather together during a tragedy as candles are passed out through the crowded space. Unfortunately, a candle never lasts long enough. The wind blows them out, they’re clumsily dropped, and the candle eventually burns down.
But in every vigil I attend, there is always a pattern.
Every time someone’s candle went out, another stranger from the crowd offered their candle to light it again. If the candle burnt out, others share their candlelight with them. If a child became scared of the flame, someone would provide reassurance and help them adjust to a safer grip.
As a candle is extinguished, its flame is rekindled when it comes into contact with another still lit.
This is how a candlelight vigil begins.
One small flame ignites another and it spreads. From hand to hand, the warmth is gently passed on.
Two candles together may create more light to illuminate the void, but the comfort comes in more than merely the brightness.
It’s the closeness, the feeling of solidarity as a sea of candlelight floods throughout the crowd. It’s that quiet compassion that shows up in the midst of tragedy. When you think the world is a terrible and frightening place, people begin to show up in mass to confront the darkness.
And it all starts with one little candle.
This is how a revolution begins.
Just a small spark in the hands of one person, clutching a candle and aching in every step they take.
This is called hope. It’s a fragile flame that burns against the odds, kept lit by those who refuse to let it burn out.
In the midst of the heartbreak, the loneliness, the fear – hope is slowly passed from one hand to another’s. It may not fully brighten the world that we live in, but it makes a world of a difference for the person holding the candle.
A candlelight vigil is more than mourning. It’s solidarity and community. It’s a rallying cry, a fight to be heard. It’s a desperate cling to hope in a world that preys on fear and desperation.
Most of all, it’s a message – saying that we’re not alone. We’re in this together.
And we’re not going anywhere.
Just Keep Stimming 