Happy Deepavali

One of the great things about living in a new-to-you country is that the holidays come as a pleasant surprise - who knew you were getting Monday off? This coming Monday, as it turns out, is Deepavali. Deepavali, also called Diwali, is a major Indian holiday, and Indians are a big presence in Singapore (including all but one of my work colleagues). It's a "festival of lights" which may have originated as a harvest festival, or may mark the anniversary of the release of a group of political prisoners 2,500 years ago, depending on whom (and what) you believe. Whatever its origins, Deepavali is now celebrated by lighting oil lamps - and now in some places, fireworks - to celebrate the triumph of good over evil in all people. And of course, being an overeducated expert on world cultures, I knew all that without resorting to Wikipedia. Yessir.

But seriously, I really find the whole thing inspiring. Maybe it's the elections and the extremely ugly rhetoric we've heard from some quarters, or maybe it's more personal than that, but I really like the idea of everybody taking a minute to consider the good and bad within and making sure the good side wins. I've had a few wins and a few losses in that area myself lately. Nobody's perfect, huh.