“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” ~Og Mandino
As we approach the shortest day of the year tomorrow (here in the Northern hemisphere), it’s helpful to remember to find the beauty in the darkness of our lives as well as in the bright places. They each have their place and their value.
Blessed Yule (or Winter Solstice) tomorrow!
“To go in the dark with a light is to know light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
And find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
And is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.”
~Wendell Berry
We fear the dark places in life for their danger and uncertainty and pain, but there is treasure to be found in those dark places if we are willing to go into the dark open to finding it there.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” ~Desmond Tutu
When we’re stuck in the darkness of pain or fear, hope can be hard to see. But it’s always there if we search hard enough, just as even the smallest hints of light can be found in the darkness.
Where are you finding hope in your life?
“The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.” ~Brené Brown
I love this perspective on the dark places of our lives, and I find it to be quite accurate to my experience. What do you think?
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.” ~Pema Chödrön
True compassion requires that we be present with all of people, including their darkness, which often shows itself most strongly when they are afraid and in pain. To do that, we must get to know our own darkness and develop compassion for that part of ourselves first. It’s the hardest kind of compassion to develop, but it’s one of the gifts available to us through kintsugi living.