Consider the light for a long moment. Most people would say that they feel safer in the light. you can see everything, you’re more aware of your surroundings. While most people grew up being scared of the dark, having to rush from the light-switch to the bed to escape the monsters that would come out of their closets, it would be far-fetched to think of someone being afraid of the light.
The light is open, happy, warming. The first thing that people do in the morning—other than turn off that annoying buzzing thing that most people call an alarm-clock—is flick on the light. There’s nothing like a sunny day to brighten up a mood or save your electricity bill. There’s no secrecy; nothing waiting to pounce. A dose of good sunshine can bring light to any situation—unless you have a sun-burn.
Darkness feels scary, untouchable without light.
No one wants to venture out alone in the black abyss, especially in an unfamiliar place. You don’t know what could be lurking around the next corner that you turn; you don’t know where your foot might fall. It’s not recommended or preferable to travel by night when there’s a luminous path to take by day.
However, the same things that make light so attractive are the same reasons that most people voluntarily wander into the darkness. The often asked, slightly humorous question that has been asked summarized it all. “Does a light bulb emit light, or does it suck darkness.” Light seems to do just about that: remove the darkness.
In the light, there’s no place to hide, no place to shield your imperfections. The fact that those around us seem blind to our vices provides us with a cloak of comfort. No one wants to venture to the darkness, remember? No one’s willing to brave the unknown for long enough to discover what we’re hiding.
Most people, when they’re being truly honest with themselves, are afraid to expose their flaws, safely hidden in the shadows of their darkness. There’s more that you can get away with unseen in the blackness. With no illumination, there’s no truth, no way to prove that what you think exists really does.
Humankind seeks out the light while living in the darkness. We are an imperfect race. As the saying goes “I’m only human.” We search out the flaws in others while constantly trying to cover up our own. But only when we step out into the light can we see each other clearly—virtues and vices. We must expose ourselves for the sake of truly knowing others.
