Saturday, October 06, 2012

Thoughts on Darkness

(And Things We Don't Know About Ourselves)

"The dark night of the soul
comes just before revelation.

When everything is lost, 
and all seems darkness,
then comes the new life
and all that is needed."
~ Joseph Campbell

I saw this quote on Facebook a couple of days ago and it has haunted me ever since. I don't know if the "average bear" is smart enough to know how much tenacity and courage it takes to hold on "when all seems darkness."

I've got some friends who are going through some tough times in this moment. I want to affirm and admire and encourage their bravery. It ain't easy, I know.

He has other annoying quotes :)
"It is by going down in the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure." ~ Joseph Campbell
I know there is light, I know Light. But darkness is part of the equation too. It is inevitable. I tend to get into times where I embrace the darkness. Maybe it is because I know from experience there are valuable things hidden in darkness. I am there now. I am not without hope. I am not flailing about or blindly running about trying to escape. I am (mostly) sitting with the darkness, waiting. Surely a time will come for action. Maybe the time is now, I don't know. In retrospect, I seem to have been sitting in darkness for long enough now and it feels like maybe it is time for action. But I am not sure what to do.

And yet another annoying quote :)
 "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell
I ran into a girl I worked with back in the late seventies. When I introduced her to my oldest daughter, she told her how I had looked out for them and took care of them (we worked in a family owned sporting goods store where they hired a lot of college students, I was a full time permanent employee). She said that was her first real job and she was kind of scared. I never saw myself as doing that! But it was a good thing to hear.

Of course, me being me, I had to ask myself if my looking out for them was really me being me, or was it me doing what others expected me to do? Who am I? And am I being me? These are a couple of the questions I face in the darkness.

I'll get it worked out again, or at least worked out enough that I can get back to moving along the path with acceptance and purpose (and maybe a little less introspection). Eventually. Life might be too short for so much introspection!

I can't do a post anymore without also including a photograph. Here is one from my son's birthday celebration (which went quite well, if I have not already said so!). The light was so pretty on the morning I took these pictures. I went out with my camera hoping to catch what I saw.
One of my favorites from that day, darkness and light.


12 comments:

  1. Brilliant. And helpful, too. You, being you, wrestling with these private things, sends out a great message of hope to the world.

    Authenticity is a great and valuable thing. I believe it helps us all stay rooted.

    You blessed me today. Nothing annoying about that. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've found the dark to be a cocoon - quiet and safe and still. There comes a point when you are ready to step into the dappled areas and, after allowing your eyes to adjust, the light... the important part being 'when you are ready.' You decide.

    "Everybody's got to leave the darkness sometime." -Sting
    Some time.
    <3
    D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like that photo. It reminds me of the Amish - Sunshine and Shadow. Your post is full of hope, and that's progress. =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. In two different places, Annie (1 Kgs 8:13, 2 Chron. 6:1), Solomon quotes God as saying He lives in thick darkness, but from what source he speaks is not recorded. If it is so, then surely it is no more than in terms of His light being greater than the darkness of all else around Him. Psalm 18 is prophetic of Christ being in hell, having taken our place on the Cross and then "taking our walk" as well; yet we read of God comind "down" and darkness being "under His feet", of Him making darkness "His secret place", and then doing for Christ what He does for us: lighting our "candle", lighting our "darkness". As we walk "though the veil", our hand in His, He leads us via that reconnection we know in our "bellies". We may not "see; but we can know assurance in the next step...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!

      I've often thought of that, Jim, how we are "sheltered in the cleft of his wings" and how that sometimes feels like a dark and scary place when it really is not!

      Delete
  5. Beautiful photo, annie!

    "I am (mostly) sitting with the darkness, waiting."

    I very much relate. I wonder if it just seems strange to get up and move simply to find some artificial light. Somehow it seems like a better idea to wait for the dawn to break.

    Mich

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful photo, annie!

    "I am (mostly) sitting with the darkness, waiting."

    I very much relate. I wonder if it just seems strange to get up and move simply to find some artificial light. Somehow it seems like a better idea to wait for the dawn to break.

    Mich

    ReplyDelete

Don't just sit there staring, say something!