By: Gabriela Yareliz
The local ABC channel was tracking our sunless day streak in NYC. Ten days without a ray of sunshine. My neighborhood was pure darkness. If I didn’t turn on the light, I couldn’t see what was in front of me. I took a walk yesterday in pouring rain. It looked like late evening instead of 8 am.
I was reminded of when I lived in the Greenwich Village, in a tiny dark apartment. At the first hint of sunshine, I would go to Washington Square Park in a skirt and sit on a bench and hike up my skirt to feel the warmth and light. I probably looked like a Pentecostal girl sunning her ankles, but trust me, weirder things happen in that park. It would be absolutely freezing but sunny. And I didn’t care as long as I felt the sun. If that isn’t Floridian on overdrive, I don’t know what is.
At the University of Florida, I would lie on benches and just feel the warmth of the sun between classes. The sun has always been my friend.
Today, I woke up earlier than I had hoped. But when I peeked out from under my sleep eye mask, I saw it. I saw the bright sun pouring into my apartment from every window. It was an uplifting excitement.
I feel like a new person. Moodiness and uncertainty vanished. Sunshine, at the top of my gratitude list. Anything is possible. Our friend, the sun, is back. The sun melts all heaviness away.
Light permeating darkness shifts everything. I was reminded of this C.S. Lewis quote:
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
I will sit here like a cute lizard and roast.
May we always seek the light, and may we always share its warmth.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 