Just a random thought process today.
There is an old story, falsely attributed to Einstein, but it still illustrates the thought.
Darkness is not a thing. It is the absence of light. Light is a thing. In fact, we can use a prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. We cannot measure darkness. If we want to know how dark a certain space is, we measure the amount of light present. We have devices that produce light. There is nothing that produces darkness. Bring light into a dark space, and it becomes illuminated.
Cold is not a thing. It is the absence of heat. All matter can be studied when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes matter have or transmit energy. At Absolute Zero (-460 F), the total absence of heat, all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. To determine how cold something is, we measure how much heat it has. We have devices that produce heat. We have devices that produce cold by removing heat.
Evil is not a thing. It is the absence of good. As with light and heat, if we want to determine whether something is evil, we examine how much good it has. If we want a dark space to become bright, we infuse it with light. If we want to warm a cold space, we infuse it with heat. We can counter evil by infusing it with goodness.
As you go about your daily lives, let your light shine and illuminate the darkness, let your warmth chase away the cold, and let your goodness dispel the evil. No amount is too little. Every bit has an effect. Through combined effort, we can make this world what we want it to become.
