“We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.” John F. Kennedy
Does the darkness feel overpowering to you? Is there light in your life? If so, where do you find it? How do you keep the darkness from overwhelming you?
When I was a child lying on the grass, looking at the stars, I was awed by their beauty. I wondered what caused them to flicker like a candle. Why could I see them only at night if they were there all the time? As I relaxed into the earth, I always felt a quiet peace flow through my body. With only a tiny flicker of light, I felt safe enough to sleep outside if my parents had let me. Being close to the earth, sheltered by the sky, I felt at home.
Darkness may allow us to rest and to escape the challenges of the day, but it may also allow us to hide from reality. When challenges we don’t want to deal with appear in our lives, we may ignore them, often creating a greater problem than the original challenge. We may also become angry, cursing this annoyance that has appeared and allowing the anger to lead us to an unwise solution.
How To Light The Darkness
What candles may we light in these dark moments to guide us? Meditation is one way to find the quiet that allows our minds to relax. Sitting and breathing deeply releases tension in the whole body and the mind expands and becomes more peaceful. When I meditate, I feel light energy flow up my spine into my head, releasing the negative thoughts and opening a space for more sane and loving thoughts.
Another way to light the candle within and remove the mental darkness is to release our fear. Fears create the negative emotions we experience and often lead us to make poor decisions. Again, we need to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and direct the mind to release the fear in whatever emotional form it is taking. As in meditation, when the fear is released, a sense of light and clearness will appear within.
Benefits of Releasing the Darkness
Meditation and releasing the fear are both powerful practices. The meditation allows you to see life from a centered and loving place. Releasing the fear removes the mental darkness to allow beneficial thoughts to flow in. Experiencing even a little light allows us to find the light in our own lives so that we may be unafraid in the outer world.
When we find peace within, it allows us to see clearly what we need to do in our lives and outside them. At a time when our country and the world need to make enormous changes in order to create real equality, we need not just have reactions to the problems, but make decisions that will create positive change. We each have to decide what helpful role we can play at this time.
Let The Light Guide You
The candle of equality requires that we shed our prejudiced conceptions, our unhealthy habits, our destructive relationships, and the belief systems that separate us from others. Who will we be in this new world and what part will we play in healing it?
Despite the challenges of staying safe during the virus, it does not help us to curse it. Instead we must ask, “What can I do to help and still be safe?” Only you can answer that question for yourself. May the light guide you.
©2020 Georganne Spruce
Additional Reading:
TRANSFORMING THE FEAR OF CHANGE
Awakening to the Dance 
Thank you for this lovely message.