The year was probably 2004 and I was out back alone, walking in the far woods of Northfield, MA. The kind of woods that start as a clear trail and end as a whole lot of trees and a sudden, inexplicable feeling of apprehension. It was in that weirdly sudden sense of fear that I felt the need to sing. Maybe to the hunters, maybe to the bears, maybe to the sunshine and the chickadees. Maybe I was just singing to myself but the song that came from me was the George Fox Song; a song from my timeless Quaker childhood. As I sang, something awesome happened - my fear fell away, completely and totally. In that moment, I felt brave and connected and at peace. I felt my roots stretch deep. I sang and in that singing, I felt a wonderful and spiritual kindredness with the person I was singing about who roamed the countryside over 350 years before me. I walked in the Light without fear in my heart.
But perhaps the loveliest gift of all is in the knowing. Because deep down, I know that I have something for my children that will give them strength as they learn to swim through their own oceans of night.
And now, kind readers, I will share these courage-filled lyrics with you:
There's a Light that was shining when the world began, And a Light that is shining in the heart of man: There's a Light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew, And a Light that is shining, friend, in me and in you. Walk in the Light, wherever you may be, Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the Light, said Fox. With a book and a steeple and a bell and a key They would bind it for ever- but they can't, said he. O, the book, it will perish, and the steeple will fall, But the Light will be shining at the end of it all. Walk in the Light, wherever you may be, Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the Light, said Fox. "If we give you a pistol, will you fight for the Lord?" "You can't kill the devil with a gun or a sword."Will you swear on the Bible?" I will not," said he, "For the truth is as holy as the Book to me." Walk in the Light, wherever you may be, Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the Light, said Fox. There's an ocean of darkness and I drowned in the night Till I came through the darkness to the ocean of Light; You can lock me in prison but the Light will be free. And I'll walk in the glory of the Light, said he. Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the Light, said Fox. Source: www.friendsmedia.org/kidsquake/printables/WalkInTheLight.pdf
Audio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRVBBcUTWqg