As the winter Solstice approaches, it’s time to honor the dark before turning toward the light. Time to honor the literal darkness, the cold, the slumbering earth. And the metaphorical darkness—the insanity and separation—of industrialized society. As Carl Jung said, “The only way out is through,” and to move through our human predicament in an empowered, intelligent way requires that we face the darkness. This season, this evolutionary moment, calls forth our highest capacities for clarity and humility and the unshakable courage that flows out of deep silence.
When the Buddha touched the earth to ground and affirm his enlightenment, the earth immediately responded, “I am your witness.” The demons fled and the morning star appeared. May you too, turn toward the earth in ever more conscious ways and feel the peace that comes with knowing you are never alone. The darkness and shadows, the grief and loss, hold gifts for our healing and transformation. This darkness too shall pass.
In honor of the darkness, two poems:
In the dark of the moon
In the flying snow,
in the dead of winter,
war spreading, families dying,
the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.
—Wendell Berry
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.
And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water: I am.
—Ranier Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus