Why are we so afraid of the dark?
As kids, we fear those dark corners. And sometimes, as we grow into adults, those dark corners continue to hold their power over us.
I used to be afraid of the dark. Yes, as an adult. I couldn’t stand total darkness, being unable to see anything at all. I left a little light on somewhere in my house. Just in case I needed to see my way through the dark in the middle of the night. It makes sense, right? You don’t want to stumble and fall.
We just presume we can’t see in the dark.
Fear of the dark is a fear of the unknown, what we cannot see, or maybe what we are afraid to see.
Tales since the beginning of storytelling, stories of dark things in the night, that slither from dark corners, passed down to create fear in each generation. The stories of protection and self-preservation. It makes sense. Who knows what lurks in the dark? Humans need to protect themselves.
That is the physical darkness.
This quote speaks to the darkness involved in healing the soul. Shadow work, sometimes called a “Dark Night of the Soul.” Diving deep into your fears and pain, looking at those things through a spiritual lens. An honest lens, a necessary lens.
I’m sorry to tell you, that you can’t always be rainbows and unicorns. Spiritual development is not only about love and light. Don’t believe that. You must go through the darkness before you can come out into the light. There has been and always will be balance in the Universe and one cannot exist without the other.
I used to be only rainbows and unicorns. A “perfect” blend of lovely light. I ignored the darkness. Told it to go away. It stayed, lurking in the corner as if waiting to envelope me.
I had someone tell me once not to talk about anything negative. Life is beautiful. And yes, I agree, life is beautiful. But you can’t ignore the darkness. You will have to face it. One way or another. Eventually.
It’s not ominous. It’s not hopeless or overly painful. Everyone makes it sound like it’s the worst thing you can experience, going through a dark night of the soul. It’s challenging, but the things we experience in the physical world, are much more painful and harder to deal with. When you collaborate with the Universe/God/your higher self/your subconscious – whatever you believe in – you must believe you are protected. You embody and exude love in the darkness, you are protected.
I finally told the darkness, “OK, tell me what you know.” And it did. And it was not as scary as I expected. It did not engulf me, as I feared, but instead, I filled the darkness with love, and the light shone through the fog so I could clearly see the sun again.