The power went out at 11:35pm.

That was it.  That was the end.

That day seemed like any other day.  We worked our stupid jobs, stressed about our stupid things, watched our TVs.

After the tv went dark, it took about 5 minutes for my eyes to adjust to the lack of stimulation. 5 minutes to be able to see the light of the moon on my wall and floor.  In that five minutes I thought, this is what it’s like to be blind, followed by, what if the power never comes back on? These were quite possibly the two deepest insights I’d ever had in my life, because when that five minutes passed, I could see again.  I realized I was blinded by the screen, both literally and metaphorically.  As I recognized the light of the moon I remembered, we were here before television, and the internet, and electric power. So really, what IF the power never came back on?

What if it all went away? What is life then? Survival, of course. But we’ve come a very long way to merely survive, and survival is a team sport. Have I taught my children any of the fundamental lessons of life? The ones that are true without technology, without giant civilizations.  Do I even know what those are?

Beep! The power came back on, but that was the end.  The end of blindness. The end of stupid jobs and stupid stresses about stupid stuff.  The end of screen blindness.  Instead, I search for the truth. I live some fundamental way that builds and supports the team that makes my community, and use the screen as a light.  A light that can inform me, and a light I can use to shine on others.