It is winter as I write this and the holidays of November, December, and New Year's celebrations have passed. Some friends are dealing with sadness, depression, feeling out-of-sync ... Others have recently lost loved ones and are grieving their loss.
I too have been through dark nights of the soul, although am not experiencing it as I write. There can be a sense of hopelessness, feelings of despair, aloneness even when being with others, and a general sense that life has passed us by.
One day in Massachusetts while lost in these feelings I wondered down to the town pond. As I sat there not feeling much except deadness inside, I noticed a lone tree trunk about 10 feet high... it looked dead with a charred hollowed core... Of course I identified with it... a soul-mate of deadness... I moved near to this new friend in my misery... as I explored its charred and hollow shell, my eyes went down inside it and I noticed several green shoots reaching for the sunlight.
The wonder of nature reached deep within my soul and touched a small bit of green growth within my own aching heart... and I was reconnected with the aliveness that always is there somewhere inside... I was reborn in that moment in a way... and the veil of darkness lifted as I once again felt in touch with the oneness of Being ...of Life energy... of the Inner Spirit that permeates all that is...
Now, there may not be a way to duplicate that event... and there is hope that the veil of darkness will lift, revealing renewed life...
It is my experience that as long as life breathes through us, we are on a spiritual journey, along with all the rest of what life asks of us. It is my experience that we can and will learn more and grow and evolve along the spiritual path. We sometimes wake up thinking, I didn't ask for this... and yet there is always a way to learn and to choose how we will respond.
Counselors and spiritual teachers over the centuries have affirmed that the dark night is a normal part of life rhythms, yet many professionals and friends wish to move us away from the dark days...
I'm here to say, I understand the darkness, and I understand there is Light... in that there is always hope... even when all your feelings suggest there is no hope...
I once had a corn plant that was given to me... it seemed to have been around for quite a while on the earth and stood about 5 feet tall having been cut back to keep it indoors. It was losing its leaves one by one... friends and relatives assured me that it had died and why not get a new one. I wasn't so sure it had died even though there were no signs of living. So, I trimmed the thick trunks way down to near the base... after a while, new shoots sprang though as small buds and eventually new corn plant leaves... dark green and wonderfully healthy. The soul of the corn plant was still there with all its potential...with life... with newness...
The dark nights and days can feel like forever at times... and they can also be a necessary retreat in order to bring new life into the world.
Honor the rhythm of your life's heartbeat... the drumbeat of your soul's journey... and choose Life whenever you are given the opportunity... to choose Life... and in case you are wondering, I do recommend choosing Life... Now... I wish you Love ... John
... and welcome to the Present Moment!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ John Hutchinson - Denver, CO
Sundance Center Webpage: www.sunhutch.com
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Beautifully written...from the heart of one having been there in that moment, somehow...if only your words could be read by all who are sinking into depression.
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