Darkness

The void of darkness is the birthplace of life itself. The experience of life is the light woven through it.

Darkness. Space. Nothingness. The Void. The Womb. The Universe. The Unknown.

Darkness is beautiful. It represents the birthplace of life. The space where energy and the seeds of life begin to take shape and germinate. It is a space for surrender to the higher, unknown forces of nature. For divine intelligence to take over the process of transformation, and to weave the threads of life.

Darkness is the winter in which life appears dormant. Darkness follows the fall, the death, the ending, the destruction and decay. What was once at peak falls away and begins to retreat back inwards, to begin anew again. The light fades to black and then there is nothing. Or so it seems. There is life still happening in the darkness, so much life we cannot see. This version of life doesn’t ask us to see or do, it asks us to be still and listen. For in the quiet depths of darkness, we can sense, feel, a undoing, a surrender, and an alchemical process of transition. In this long slumber, nature is preparing energy for its next cycle of growth.

We are all ruled by nature’s cycles and seasons. Our bodies, our energy, requires this adherance to nature’s laws of destruction and creation. It is natural, and a necessity, to undergo cycles of regeneration. From the darkness of winter to clean and clear space for the new, to the emergence of spring to plant and nurture seeds, to the light of summer to grow, to the descent of fall to harvest and prepare for retreat, and back to the void of winter to begin again. All of growth, creation, is dependent upon the darkness of winter to clear space, regenerate energy, and to germinate new seeds.

In modern culture and society, we tend to resist this as we have forgotten our natural origins and rhythms. Society abandons the higher laws of nature, in favor of a Capitalistic belief system that pushes the illusion of constant growth. It deludes and manipulates to manufacture the illusion of an eternal spring and summer, where space for fall and winter is not permitted. We see this in society’s guilt and resistance to long periods of rest, restoration, nurturing, and nonaction. Instead, it pushes for nonstop action and productivity. Our dominant culture of ‘toxic positivity’ encourages people to avoid and reject the dark. To run away from their pain, their sadness, and anything that is perceived as negative or ‘bad.’ To avoid letting go of what no longer feels good. Instead, it encourages people to pour their energy into covering up or masking what actually needs to be healed, resolved, and released. There is much fear of darkness in our culture. Of death. Of nothingness. Of uncertainty. Of stillness. Of the depths of darkness even within us all.

Darkness is not as scary as we are made to believe it is. Darkness itself is not inherently bad, evil, or negative. It is only because we as humans assign these values to it because we do not fully understand it. Darkness can only feel scary when we feel afraid of what we may find in its space.

Darkness is merely space. A void. It is neither good or bad. Darkness only feels uncomfortable or scary when we have filled the space with the things we would prefer not to deal with or face. Humans unconsciously tend to fill this space with all sorts of energies. Perhaps unprocessed emotional energies, not fully processed experiences, traumas or wounds. And anything that was never really fully processed, felt, and understood from childhood to adulthood. These energies tend to be the ones that were suppressed, repressed, or perceived as bad or negative. So much so that one would rather not fully confront and experience its full impact. The inner void tends to be the space where our hidden unconscious, shadows, fears, insecurities, and greatest pains and sorrows can be accessed. Unconsciously, we can sense the depths of what lives there and sense there may be things we do not want to find out. The longer the energy exists in the void, the deeper it roots. Fear of what is there can grow and resistance to uncovering it does as well. It’s why certain experiences that happened in the past loom large and become a trauma or source of pain. The energy and emotions of the experience were never fully felt, processed, and released, so it lingers—residing in the inner depths of the void. Perhaps we put it away in a chamber somewhere thousands of layers beneath the surface, or it’s packed away in boxes in inner closets or rooms. The energy that is stored away within us can unconsciously attract similar energetic experiences that feel strangely familiar or reminiscent of the past. While they may bring more of the same experiences, they too can also serve as opportunities to confront and release what is buried within. The attraction of these experiences present us with opportunities to heal them. When we heal, we release, and we clear space in the void of darkness.

The path to light is through the dark. In learning to understand the darkness, we can understand and access the light. It is a matter of embracing both. To create and weave light in the darkness.