Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore has been blowing my mind.
Western culture reveres happiness and tells us to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. But what if the goal is to be enveloped by darkness?
A singer who’s technically strong but has no emotion sounds rigid and hollow.
A writer who has incredible grammar and vocabulary but who hasn’t touched their own darkness has no depth.
And some of the greatest insights in life come from an illness, a divorce or a period of discontent.
A world without darkness is tinny, hollow and toxicly positive.
When you’re hit by it, use art as a liferaft. Listen to a song that helps you feel the grief or rage.
I’ve been listening to F2020 by @avenuebeat on repeat to help process my feelings about the pandemic.
Or make your own art: write a poem, draw with crayons, write a short story or dance it out.
Writing these posts about my existential crisis has been cathartic.
And realizing that I don’t have to strive for the light at the end of the tunnel has blown my mind.
I get to cuddle up right here in the dark with my sad songs on repeat and text my best friends about life sucking.
Kahlil Gibran writes On Love,
“He threshes you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant…
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into a seasonless life where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep but not all of your tears.”
I’m no longer striving towards perpetual daylight and can report it’s kinda cozy here in the dark.
Sending you love for all your dark nights,
Bryn
PS Love Thomas Moore’s book and his episode on the Follow Your Blisters podcast.
PSS If you want to help your clients move towards their goals without skipping over the dark parts of life, the Advanced Somatic Techniques Program teaches you how to help your clients process their feelings of grief, anger, resentment and fear in their bodies. BOOP the link to get info here.
