Dark Nights

While some of my thinking would fall within the category of new age, there are some new age things that I do not agree with or enjoy. The idea that you have to try to be grateful during a period of suffering or use gratitude to get you through a dark night of the soul is one of those ideas where I highly disagree.

I think many of us will, at some point in life, go through a dark night of the soul. We will have a period of time where things are not going well for us; seemingly not in any aspect of life. And those periods are rough...full stop. Nobody can say anything to make it better. And you don't have to try to be grateful in the midst of it.

I do think, however, that when you get past a dark night of the soul you can find some level of appreciation for the inner strength that you were able to muster that got you through. And if you are fortunate enough to have a community of people, no matter how big or small, that help you through, that is one other piece of awareness that you will carry with you.

Dark nights of the soul can be devastating but they can also be clarifying. And I wish that we didn't have to encounter them for that level of clarification. But that is one of the only things that I can say with certainty as a balm. When you get through the other side, you see your strength. You realize you are a survivor. Because not everybody decides to fight their way through to the other side. But I am rooting for, and believing in, anyone reading this who is or will be fighting their way through. I know you have the ability to come through that dark period, and shine even brighter when you do.