Author note: This is the first of a series of articles written on the subject of "A picture is worth a thousand words."

The age-old saying rings true, and while it may be hard to simply sit and think of one thousand words to match up with a photograph, or any other picture, it will undoubtedly lead to a thousand words thought of, spoken, or remembered at some point.

I know that in myself, looking at a picture sparks numerous reactions, and I always find my mind racing in so many directions, it amazes me that an image can ignite such a response in our neurons. And connected to those images, are words. Whether they are spoken long in the past, in the form of memory, enunciated in a conversation I will have presently or in the future, or thought of as an inner monologue in my mind, they all stem from some picture. A picture doesn’t always spark the same reaction in every person — which is the beauty of individuality — and in some it may register less than with others, with the related word count not reaching quite one thousand, but it is sure to leave some impact on the viewer. This is one picture that I particularly love, because it creates so many options for your mind to wander through, browsing at interesting ideas, and leafing through circumstance. While it may seem like a simple picture of light bulbs on a cord, it can become so much more than that.

The brilliance of light, great strides in history, ingenuity, our desire to illuminate the world, seek knowledge within it, and create beauty in practicality are all thoughts that alight on my mind when I see light bulbs; in particular, Edison bulbs. What has always fascinated me, and what I believe has inspired mankind in many ways, is that all darkness is dissipated when you shine a light. This phenomenon made itself tangible to me on a trip to Mammoth Cave. We reached a place deep inside the cave, and our guide instructed us to sit on benches that had been placed in the cavern. After we were seated, he told us to extinguish out lanterns. When we did this, everything was immediately plunged into darkness, and I hit my face with my hand because I had no sense of perception operating. He then struck a match, and that one flame illuminated everything that a second before, we had been blind to. The lanterns were lit once again, and we continued on our way. Since then, that image has been burned in my mind, and with it, the fascination that illumination holds for me.

Humans have been awed by its power for centuries, creating gods to embody the sun and moon and fire, and casting figures into the heavens when the light from a star broke through the atmosphere to reach ancient eyes. As the years passed, and history was made, we still looked towards the light. We found ways to bring light within our homes, and people were challenged to invent. One of the greatest scientific rivalries was formed between Edison and Tesla, and the ability to harness electricity was found with the flip of a switch, 1,000 ways how not to do it, and coils that could power a city and the World’s Fair. Direct and alternating currents plugged into the lifestyle of countries and people around the globe, changing the way that humanity operated. This allowed us to create amazing spectacles, such as Broadway, which was once known as the Great White Way due to the sheer amount of light bulbs and illuminated objects casting white light down on the city goers as they stayed later into the night than ever before.

This created the “nightlife” we know today, and led to a shift in marketing practices, and how business was conducted. All because of a small glass dome with filament conducive to electric charge that changed the way we lived.

One reason I have always loved light bulbs, is because of the feeling they provide. The warm glow of white light creates the ambiance in so many situations. From sitting beneath the Christmas tree and seeing eyes sparkle under the tiny lights, to a coffee shop filled to the brim with good conversation and thoughtfulness, or simply the feeling of walking into your home at night, and the warm light bathing your tired eyes letting you know you are safe from the dangers of the dark, light bulbs have factored so much into how we live our lives, and the way our emotions react to situations based on our surroundings.

I’ve had the opportunity to work in lighting design with my church, and the main focus is to capture the moment. By bringing the lights up with the music when the song crescendos, and matching the beat and lyrics, you are able to impart in someone the feeling that you want them to remember. This can be done in many, many ways. You can play with color, intensity, position, movement, and so many other factors that blend into an experience. This happens in our every day lives as well, and not just the light and recording studios. The colors we see are due to the absorption of certain wavelengths of light, and repulsion of the ones we then see. Grass is green because it doesn’t absorb that color of light. Just like this, we are reflective of our surroundings, absorbing the information fed to us, and reflecting the traits of those we are closest to. See, a perfect metaphor presented to us by this seemingly simple picture! Just like a person — full of twists and turns, and beauty in the complexity of our existence. Albert Einstein once said, “The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.” In the viewing of this picture, I believe that these words come to light, like the chain reaction of electrons in the cord holding an everyday work of art, illuminating the path of life.