Out of the Darkness
Slipping slowly under the water
Down to the deepest section of the lake
Swallowed by the chill,
Engulfed in darkness
The ripples slow and end
Leaving no trace behind of
What has sunk below to the depths.
The stinging pain subsides
Giving way to numb silence.
It is in the depths,
The dark places of the soul
Where we find hope,
It’s in those spaces where the greatest lessons
Are learned.
It’s where we come face to face
With our shadows,
The parts we’d rather hide.
We meet every dreaded piece,
See our faults and cracks.
But from that meeting
Grows an understanding,
Which eventually turns to caring and then to love.
The greatest journey is to
Learn to love oneself
To love oneself as a whole,
Demons, faults, cracks and all.
To shift our view to see that all those
Dark parts of ourselves
The selfishness, the fear
Are really perfect because they create
Places for the light to shine through,
Serve as teachers to help move us along.
In the darkness, we can learn how to love
Muddle about until we can surface again,
Breaking through with shimmering droplets
Glistening and splashing in the morning light.
I have found and continue to find that out of the darkness- the deepest sadness and pain comes great understanding and love. Times of fear and anguish have led me to a place of greater knowing and self love. Of course when I’m in the middle of fear and sadness I’m in no place to recognize that I’m learning and growing, but when I come out the other side it all becomes clear. Sometimes even in the dark I can see that the dark allows the light to shine even brighter, and that is a special time. What have you learned in your times of darkness?
throughmyhearts 