Scatter Sunshine

A little light goes far

It was the third day of a valley-wide basketball tournament. With three grandsons playing for three different high schools, the schedule had been rather gruesome for Sandi and me—nineteen games scattered across multiple schools and gymnasiums, with long drives between.

By Saturday morning, we were down to the final three games. The tedium was real as we shuffled into yet another auxiliary gym—dimly lit, noisy, and reverberating with the sound of a dozen bouncing balls during warmups. Scanning the sideline, we looked desperately for two empty metal chairs. As we moved through the crowd, a woman sitting with a young girl smiled warmly and called out, inviting us to take the seats next to them. Her voice was unusually cheerful for this late stage of a long weekend.

As the game began, I focused on our grandson—watching closely when he played, taking pictures and videos, and checking emails on my phone when he was resting on the bench. But somewhere in the margins of my attention, I slowly became aware of a lively conversation unfolding between Sandi and the nice woman next to her. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but Sandi’s expressions said enough—smiling, laughing, completely lit up. Curious, I leaned in.

Although I still couldn’t hear much, it was clear that Sandi had encountered someone who had the unique gift of making people happy. In the chaos of a noisy gym, her personality shined. This seemed so remarkable that I finally had to interrupt. “You are just a ray of sunshine” I said to this person (later introduced as Audrey). She blushed slightly, dismissed the compliment with a smile, and continued to chat with Sandi as if they were old friends. By the final buzzer, they were just that—two strangers connected in laughter, warmth, and mutual stories. We left the gym lighter than we’d walked in.

On the way to the car, Sandi explained their conversation. Our grandson and Audrey’s son were teammates. In addition, she and Audrey had miraculously discovered mutual friends, familiar places, and even shared experiences. It had been, in every way, a meaningful and fun conversation.

“Audrey scattered a little sunshine this morning” I observed.

Sandi laughed. “She really did.”

As we drove to the next game, I found myself wondering where the phrase scattering sunshine had even come from. It’s not exactly trending. Outside the occasional Instagram quote or a well-meaning self-help blog, it’s not something people say at Costco. Then—suddenly—the words of a familiar hymn popped into my head like a no-look pass straight to the forehead:

“In a world where sorrow ever will be known, Where are found the needy and the sad and lone, How much joy and comfort you can all bestow, If you scatter sunshine everywhere you go."

And then the chorus:

“Scatter sunshine all along your way. Cheer and bless and brighten every passing day.”

That’s what Audrey had done. And Sandi, as always, returned the favor.

A few hours later, we found ourselves sitting next to Audrey again, and their conversation picked up where they left off, like they’d been friends for years. By the end of the game, they were sharing contact information and social media profiles with the promise to stay in touch.

Because Audrey’s cheerful countenance had brightened our day, and I wanted to return the favor, I provided her with my website, explained that there were over 3,500 images in 15 albums, and asked her to pick her favorite so that I could send her the image for printing as she liked. “It would make me happy if you picked one,” I said.

Audrey smiled, her daughter giggled, Sandi beamed, and sunshine followed us home.

Later that night, curious to learn more about the hymn “Scatter Sunshine,” I discovered that it was written in 1892 by Lanta Wilson Smith, a prolific hymn writer with over 500 songs to her name. Representing her most enduring work, “Scatter Sunshine” was adopted as the official hymn of a most interesting group -- the International Sunshine Society which was formed in 1896 “to incite its members to the performance of kind and helpful deeds, and thus bring the sunshine of happiness into the greatest possible number of hearts and homes.”

“Wow,” I thought. “Where can I join?”

Sadly, the society seems to have disappeared by the 1980s.

Perhaps Audrey can revive it.

Caught up in research, I came across another beloved hymn about sunshine, and another inspiring story.

The lyrics to “There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today” were written by Eliza E. Hewitt. Born in 1851 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she later became a schoolteacher. While teaching at the Northern Home for Friendless Children, a student struck her across the back with a slate (a heavy tablet used for writing), causing a severe spinal injury. The blow left her nearly bedridden for six months, and for a time it was feared she might be permanently disabled. During her intense suffering, she turned her attention inward and began writing poetry and hymns, reading scripture, and finding ways to uplift others despite her immobility.

After a long recovery, Eliza was eventually able to walk again, and during one of her first ventures outside in the early spring, she felt sunlight on her face and compared it to the spiritual warmth she’d come to know during her confinement. Moved by this symbolic connection between physical and spiritual light, she wrote the poem that would later become a beloved hymn with these words:

“There is sunshine in my soul today, More glorious and bright, Than glows in any earthly sky, For Jesus is my light.”

What It Means to Scatter Sunshine

The word scatter means to spread or distribute something widely over an area. When someone scatters sunshine, it’s a figurative way of saying they share joy, warmth, or kindness—just as sunlight brings life and brightness wherever it touches.

Some people have a gift for this. Audrey certainly did. Her personality reminded me of a quote I once paired with one of my favorite images of sunflowers – a line from J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan.

We need more people like that.

Light in Photography—and Life

Sunshine, of course, isn’t just metaphor. In photography, it’s the original light source—the one that gives everything its form, depth, and feeling.

Although some may define photography as a combination of cameras, lenses, subjects, and even editing, when you strip all of that away, there’s one truth that never changes:

Photography is the art of capturing light. Everything else is secondary.

During a 30-year career in law enforcement, I was an eyewitness to some of the darkest aspects of society. Although my legal career was exciting and challenging, the investigation of high-level drug trafficking cases put me in direct contact with all forms of greed, addiction, violence, abuse and neglect of children, and the loss of dignity, health, freedom, and even life itself. Without recognizing it, all of those things weighed on my heart, mind and soul in ways that I couldn’t imagine at the time. Over time, I began to crave light in all its forms. And photography offered me one way to find it.

The best photographs, like the best people, scatter, spread, and distribute light. Whether we do this with a camera, a look, a hug, or a kind word, we can all do that.

We don’t have to shine brightly like the sun in every moment, we just have to scatter a little sunshine wherever we go.

Just like Audrey.