Light, darkness, and a smart phone app

Light, darkness, and a smart phone app

Photo credit: James Lee @ Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jronaldlee/

Recently I watched the fireworks show my city put on for Independence Day from the roof of my home. With my smart phone in hand I took photos of the pyrotechnic displays and even recorded some video. The program lasted a total of 20 minutes and by the time it was over the darkness of the night returned in full force. I could still see well enough to negotiate my path from my perch on the roof to the edge where I had used a step ladder to scramble onto the rooftop a half-hour earlier. I figured it would be just as easy to get off the roof as it was to get on it.

I was mistaken.

The top of the step ladder did not reach the edge of the roof. Rather, it went up just high enough for me to stand on the top, get a firm grasp on the roof and hoist myself up. The gap between the edge of the roof and the top of the step ladder didn't seem like such a big deal when I got onto the roof, but now, with the everything shrouded in just enough darkness to confuse my perception, the top of the step ladder looked like it wasn't as close to the rooftop as I remembered.

This worried me because I didn't want to swing my legs over the edge of the roof and have them miss the ladder or knock it over while trying to plant my feet on it. If that happened I could end up losing my hold of roof and end up falling on to the concrete below. Needless to say, I did not look forward to this possibility. So for the next 10 minutes I tried to figure out what to do. I felt like a cat stuck in a tree and there was no one coming to save me. 

If only I had a flashlight, I thought. 

Then I finally remembered I had the smart phone. I downloaded a flashlight app and used it to shine light on the step ladder. To my chagrin, what had looked farther away in the darkness was, in reality, much closer then I realized. Reassured that I could finally get off the rooftop without fear of falling, I climbed down with ease.

A line in from above is worth repeating in the wake of this experience: What had looked farther away in the darkness was, in reality, much closer then I realized.

Its easy to be blinded by darkness; to be made apprehensive and frightened by it. Darkness, by its very nature, can leave things hidden and unknown. The early 20^th Century author H.P. Lovecraft once said that fear of the unknown is one of “the oldest and strongest kind of fear” there is. 

Light, on the other hand, illuminates, educates, guides and calms. Darkness cannot dwell where light is, and in my case, it helped light an easily accessible pathway that only moments before looked dangerous and unreachable.