Dark Openings

Light gray rock with dark hole in center

2022-09-16

I want my life to be happy. Enough with challenge and pain. Only positive Openings from now on.

Is There Such a Thing?

Yes, there are dark Openings and it helps to be aware of their existence.
The term dark Opening may seem like an oxymoron. However, in our everyday lives we know we can see and walk in the dark. So why can’t we see and go through dark Openings? We can. We just have to acclimate our vision and proceed carefully, as it is true that darkness can hide things from us.

We must stop being afraid of the dark. Life and nature and the cosmos all hold both light and dark. If we ignore the dark, we are missing a big part of our existence. Darkness and the unknown can hold adventure, growth and joy for us. Dark Openings ask us to walk through the darkness for a while, before we see the light.

Until we accept the existence of dark Openings, we’ll miss out on them, only looking for highly visible Openings to walk through. Dark Openings take some time to see. They may seem dark when we do encounter them. We cannot see any good to come of walking through them. But not seeing something does not negate its existence.

Confusion

Darkness can cause confusion. We want to see what’s around us. We want to know where we are going. Darkness can obscure things, leaving us uncertain and unsteady. This can make us confused about whether we should proceed or if there is even anything in front of us. We are not used to darkness and spend most of our waking time in the light.

Confusion usually is just a lack of clarity. When we experience confusion, it does not mean anything is wrong. It just means that we do not know what lies before us. That’s okay. If we knew the path of our life from the outset, life wouldn’t be as interesting and we would not grow. Same with a dark Opening. If we do not see it at first, that does not mean it has nothing to offer us.

Dark Openings can be hard to see when we have been through a drastic change in our life or are confused about where to go next. We may be in a funk and unable to see anything good ahead. Or, we may be stuck, looking at the same scenery around us day after day. As dark Openings emerge our senses have to be keen. Dark Openings first may appear to be something we do not want and we turn away. Or, they may reveal themselves only slightly as a hint, idea or an insight of something new.

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When The Light Comes In

Leonard Cohen said there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. We see darkness and then there is movement and light appears. Sometimes, brokenness reveals the light to us. Dark Openings eventually bring us light. They may emerge slowly or first appear as a crack in the darkness. They reveal their presence in a different way than the Openings we are used to seeing.

What is an example of a dark Opening? Perhaps we have experienced a deep loss or an unwelcome change in our life. Things aren’t looking too good. A dark Opening, after a while, may beckon us to look deeper as to what this experience can give us, how it stretches us or how it will move us forward. Or perhaps we are on a plateau in our life and cannot see anywhere to go. Just our desire to move is an Opening, even though the path forward is not clear.

In these situations, if we look for the Openings they offer, we will find them. They may not reveal themselves right away to us. They may ask that we find them. That we dig deeper and find the gift in the most difficult situations.

Embracing A Dark Opening

How do we embrace a dark Opening? Here are some ideas:

·       Sharpen our ability to see dark Openings by looking deeply within and around us during difficult times in our life. See what our looking reveals to us.
·       Look for hints of light. Realize that Openings are not always 100% visible. It is like a treasure hunt and in our looking we grow and change.
·       Honor the darkness in our life as well as the light. Challenge, sorrow, doubt and loss are as much a part of life as joy, ease, safety and growth.
·       Accept that the unknown can bring good things to our life. Within the unknown all kinds of things await us. Lots of them good.

Let’s get started exploring the nature of dark Openings. Who knows where our exploration will bring us!

I am ready to embrace ALL of life. It’s kind of exciting to dream about what a dark Opening may bring me!

Photo: Thomas Muhl, pixabay.com