No Night, No Light
This week in the Northern hemisphere is the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and signals the return of the light. The daylight is brief, paired with long dark nights. And for our friends in the…
This week in the Northern hemisphere is the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and signals the return of the light. The daylight is brief, paired with long dark nights. And for our friends in the Southern hemisphere, we acknowledge you are celebrating long days of sunlight paired with shorter nights.
The two poles of night and light extends to most of our earthly existence. We live with paired opposites: up and down, right and left, good and bad, black and white. Often these apparent opposites can be troubling because our human mind is prone to think in either/or terms, judging one better than the other.
The challenge is that we often don’t know what we want, or which is best, but often know which one we don’t like. If you view the phenomenon of opposites as bad and judge only one is good, you will see reality from only one point of view. The realm of new possibilities lies beyond judging the paired opposites as bad and learning to appreciate the creative energy that lies between the two.
Remember when you were a child, and you visited an ice cream store with at least 31 flavors? You got to try several flavors before you chose the one you most wanted. If you tasted one you didn’t like you probably frowned and shook your head and said, “No, not this one.”As you tasted more you found the one you liked and eagerly nodded and said, “I want this one!” The more flavors you tasted and didn’t like, it got you closer to what you did like. Taking the opportunity to dislike something is a gift that signals to you the unique flavor that you most want.
The journey from Victim to Creator can be seen as a similar binary system. They are seemingly two opposites, yet the interplay between the two can help you recognize what you want and who you want to be.
When you fall into the dark, drama-filled times in your life, it may feel like you’ll never get through them. It may be a difficult relationship with yourself, or others, or a host of hard situations that are challenging. You wonder if you will find your way through.
You may not always love the darkness of these difficult situations, but as a Creator, you can still appreciate the lessons embedded in the cycle of night and light. Focusing for a while on what you don’t want, trying new flavors, strategies, and ideas can lead you to what you do want. As the saying goes, “Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.”In this same way, it is our wish that you may grow to embrace your drama, when it arises, as part of the natural cycle of the human experience. As you observe and learn from your reactive thinking and behavior, you may view it as an essential step toward growth and transformation.
You may be someone who doesn’t care much for the darkness of winter nights. But it is the darkness that allows you to see the starry night in its full beauty. If it wasn’t for the night, you wouldn’t see the bright shining stars.
This time of year is a time of celebration. It is a time to pause, and to have faith that the light will return. We invite you to trust your own cycle of night and light. In this trust, you will find an inner lightness that nurtures a way through the darkness.