A Thousandth of a Gleam
Our Biophotonic Birthright
“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”
-Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own.
I love this short and simple triad of sentences penned by Virginia Woolf—especially in January, the start of a new year. Societal expectations often dictate the formation of grand, character-building resolutions now! Yet the rush to shine as fiercely and quickly as possible can be utterly exhausting and counterproductive. Sometimes, a deep winter hibernation is in order. Or perhaps just a quiet determination that need not be spoken aloud, just sheltered in the heart.
No need to hurry . . .
Did you know that your body glows? The gleam is just 1000 times too dim for your eyes to perceive it. Metabolic reactions turn energy into bioluminescence. But this light is “ultraweak,” meaning that the human gaze will never be sensitive enough to see the biophotons that are our birthright.
No need to sparkle . . .
Whether our sheen is just a thousandth of a gleam or a solar flare of creativity, beauty and power that dazzles many, the tiny shimmer in our cells will last until our final breath on Earth. There is something comforting in knowing this constant flicker is always a part of me.
No need to be anybody but oneself . . .
Sometimes I feel that the older I get, the less sure I am of anything—especially myself. But I do know that I won’t be announcing inktacular writing goals anymore. I’ve heard that such splendiferous pronouncements can bypass the steady, boring growth of hard work and hit the brain’s reward center too early. Why disrupt my innate motivation by breaking out the celebratory pom-poms prematurely?
Instead, I shall scribble dark starlight quietly with my diamondiferous writing group for a solid chunk of months. Some sparkles, like the last shining grit of Fantasia, must be held closer than a whisper until it’s finally time to let them go.
I do have one monthly Artweaver goal to share today, though. I’m getting back into drawing horses again! My mom adored those creatures above all other animals on Earth, raising her daughters on The Black Stallion, Black Beauty, Flicka, and all horse-related adventures. I suppose it was only natural that I would fall in love with them, too. After rummaging through my old art supplies, I even found my cherished horse sketch books:
While I’m quite rusty at equine art, I’m determined to pursue the noble form once more. I must admit that I chuckled when I ran across this quotation by Paul Brown in Drawing the Horse:
“Lots of people, especially artists, say that the horse is one of the most beautiful things that God ever made but the d---dest thing to draw. Nonsense. He is beautiful all right, and there is no more pleasant thing to sketch.”
I agree! Presenting January, the first of twelve dreams I dedicate to the Year of the Horse (*it begins on February 17th of 2026, so this horse is an early admission):
Sources:
Brown, Paul. Drawing the Horse: Gaits, Points, and Confirmation. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. 1981.
Masaki Kobayashi, Daisuke Kikuchi, and Hitoshi Okamura. Edited by Joseph Najbauer. July 16, 2009. “Imaging of Ultraweak Spontaneous Photon Emission from Human Body Displaying Diurnal Rhythm.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2707605/
Gorgeous connection between biophotonics and Woolf's wisdom. The idea that our cells emit ultraweak light with diurnal rhythms but we'll never percieve it is somehow liberating--it reframes the pressue to constantly shine visibly. I've caught myself announcing goals prematurely too, only to lose momentum when the dopamine hit from sharing eclipsed the actual work. That line about holding sparkles closer than a whisper untilits time really landed tbh.