What I learnt today #18

Friday 02 November

Today is All Souls' Day, where tradition calls for visits to the burial sites of loved ones to tidy up and light candles. 
I visited the cemetery today and was among scores of people who were lighting candles and cleaning up graves. Many graves were overgrown with vines and other flora and some showed signs of seldom being visited. I imagine that many present today were looking back on the times when the people that have passed were with them. 

The smell of candles burning was wafting in the air. Candle smoke invokes very fond memories from my childhood. The only time we lit candles was when there was an extended power outage, which brought on a sense of excitement for a young lad. Navigating the house with a flashlight and assembling candles was something I took very seriously when we were faced with these blackouts. But the part that I enjoyed the most was everybody gathered in one spot, usually the dining room table, and there was nothing to occupy us but each other. No TV, no radio or computer. We would gather and talk about things that we would not have had we not been forced to group. Sometimes, there was no need to talk, but there was a need to be together. 

I found it quite poetic that this nostalgia brought on by candle smoke was in a place that carries us back to another time. I found myself thinking that I should spend more time with those that are close to me. We make excuses about life, and show no hesitation in listing the many things get in the way. I'd like to spend more time with those I love. 

What distractions have you allowed to put distance between you and your loved ones?

Sometimes we need to actively impose a blackout on all the things that prevent us from coming together. Just like power outages, those blessings in disguise, brought my family a little closer from time to time.