Soul Matters – December 2022/January 2023

The other morning, I sat in the pre-dawn darkness on my porch, wrapped up against the cold, staring at the stars. I listened to invisible raccoons running through the trees, saw the inky outline of the branches bending under their weight. I heard the soft clopping of deer hooves, and then the owl’s resonant, echoing call in the middle distance. And then, none too slowly, the sky began to lighten and within moments the moon and stars disappeared, washed over by a swath of blue.

I am entranced by that sky: how all those stars and that darkness is there still, blanketed by the light. It is staggering to think of how much life is out of sight and mind as we go about our days. We are, in a sense, somnambulant creatures, asleep to so much of our lives. Attuned only to what we can clearly see and identify, we miss what lies just beyond the obvious.

We commonly think of light illuminating what is, but the truth is that light limits our vision as much as it expands it. Our lives, like the multiverse of which we are but a pinprick-sized part, are so much more than what we can easily see. The dark times open us to a greater revelation. The darkness opens a dialogue with soul.

Whether the darkness of approaching winter, or a dark night of the soul in your heart, darkness is an opportunity to peel back the sky and reveal the stars that lie deep within us. The darkness reveals our destiny and our depth. We become enlightened, the psychologist Carl Jung said, by making the darkness conscious. It’s a beautiful and intriguing thought that darkness enlightens.

The great work of life is to go inward, into the dark, to discover our deeper selves. Our outer persona, like the blue sky, masks an infinite, eternal Self. Our full potential dwells in darkness. It takes a little effort to become comfortable in that darkness with its strange rustlings, a little time for eyes to adjust to the shadowy contours; but if we sit in that dark night, learning to look and to listen deeply, we discover a deeper life that was always there, waiting to gather us in.

KATE INGRAM, MA,CSBC, is dedicated to helping others transform by embracing their darkness and finding their inner brilliance. Find out more at kintsugicoaching.com.