Engaging Darkness: A New Perspective

Through constant reflection I navigate the world around me.  At any moment any one of my philosophical beliefs are up for consideration and reconsideration.  That’s me – always reflecting. A few years ago, one of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott, spoke about how sometimes our stories stop serving us.  If that happens she inferred that perhaps it is time to re-consider what the role of our stories plays in our lives and whether they are worthy re-telling or even thinking about at all.  With a smile on my face, I have decided that sometimes it is not only our stories that need to be re-defined, so do the ideas that we embrace.   Without a doubt, darkness is a core concept/idea worthy of exploring and rethinking.

The word darkness has always had a challenging connotation to nearly everyone I know.  As a child, a dark bedroom was scary; stormy nights provided great backdrops for our own personal horror story.  As adults, darkness is the metaphor for depression and/or loneliness.  Darkness has generally been feared; light has been celebrated.  Until now. . . .

The power of darkness can permeate life in a myriad of positive ways. In the last few days, darkness has grown in stature and is now one of the most potent words to explain how creativity can be embraced.  There is enormous power in realizing that life begins in darkness and only through kneading the darkness, can we experience that darkness is in fact a condition that enables sparks to fly.

On an NPR interview with Sir Paul McCartney, he was asked how one of his recent songs evolved.  His response took my breath away.  Literally.  He spoke about each and every one of his pieces begins as “a black hole”.    He went on to explain that each and everything we create begins in darkness. The more we nurture our creation the more the darkness is left behind.  Darkness is where creation begins.   Instead of referring to a challenging reality, deep sadness, etc, the dark hole or darkness has become a word that manifests transformation and creation.

Supporting this new realization is two phenomenal sayings/teachings.

Creativity – like human life itself – begins in darkness.”

~Julia Cameron

and

A beautiful chant by Rabbi Shefa Gold can be found at http://www.rabbishefagold.com/Seeds.html

Or zarua laTzadik, u’l’yishray lev simcha (Psalm 97)

Interpretation by Rabbi Shefa Gold:

Plant the seeds of Joy and Light; Tend them carefully day and night,

In this soil so dark and deep, I plant the dreams that Love will reap.

Even if we sometimes look at darkness as being sad or as part of struggling with life, it is also helpful to see darkness as a tool for working through challenges and towards healing.  Soaring is possible as long as you can keep perspective and strive to find solutions regardless of what is being faced.

Remembering that darkness encompasses all forms of creativity and birth leads it to be an illuminating word.

May each of us find a spark of light to help us navigate through the journeys that often begin with darkness.