The Halo Effect

As I was walking up the stairs to my next class today, I was mesmerized for a moment. The light streaming down from the window above me was brighter than I had ever seen. That was not what made me stop walking though. Instead, it was the effect the light made on the other people walking down the stairs. They seemed to be glowing with an unearthly light.

Even though I knew it was simply a trick of the light, I couldn't help but be transfixed. A certain girl stepped into the sunlit spot. She seemed to glow even more than the others. Perhaps the girl was glowing in such a way because she was a sinless and faultless girl. Had a higher power chosen her specially?

The sun ducked behind a cloud and the glow faded. She continued down the stairs, not noticing that she had become an angel for an instant. I began to think again. I had not known the girl, but for an instant I had become sure that she was a perfect being. What were to happen if it had been someone I had known?

If I were to see my friend bathed in that light, the least I would do would be to cherish her a little more. Perhaps I would realize that she is an angel, if only to me. And what if I had seen my most hated enemy seemingly blessed by a higher power? Perhaps I would think a little differently that what I usually saw. Instead of only remembering the reasons why that enemy is so hated, I would think about why she is loved by someone. After all, that light would not shine on someone truly evil.

Perhaps my whole point is that the way light shines on things changes the way they are seen. As with movies, different lighting makes all the difference in what comes to mind. Things I have known my entire life become new again, and things I was once afraid of become the most comforting. Look at the world in a different light.