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While many of us might have relished in getting that extra hour of sleep when we rolled the clocks back a couple of weeks ago, there are many (or more) of us who are quite averse to spending more of our waking time in the dark. Without the stimulation of daylight that nourished us through the summer months and with nighttime closing in often before the work of our days is done, it is easy to feel cut off from the world. Where outdoor activities and the ease of being outside after dinner reigned supreme, being enclosed indoors is the hallmark of the months ahead.

I am a big proponent of project-based living. Whether it is a house project, an art project, working on my family tree, organizing drawers, closets or photos, or composing music (ok, that’s my favorite), projects are great activities of self-discovery and provide immense satisfaction. Outside stimulation is replaced with inward motivation. It does not need to cost a lot to lose oneself in a project (or many). Getting through the dark months requires self-reliance and a comfort with one’s own company.

As we move through the book of Genesis it is interesting to follow God’s presence story by story. Of course, at the beginning, God is everything and everywhere. There was only darkness. God performs an act of tzim-tzum, or retraction, to make space for light and for our world to exist. In each story of Genesis, however, God appears less and less: last week with Abraham, God was a disembodied voice, with Isaac, God is hinted at but not seen, with Joseph God only appears in dreams. In the rest of the Torah, God communicates mostly through Moses and impacts the lives of the Israelites through laws and precepts. God’s vanishing is gradual and humans are trained to be their own source of light and motivation.

It is an oft-repeated phrase to, “be a light unto the world,” and quite a tall order as the world is indeed full of darkness and despair. But maybe this winter a smaller goal might be more attainable. Start the project. Be a light in YOUR world. Fill YOUR home with light. Fill YOUR relationships with light and maybe the darker months ahead will be lighter for having done so.