reclaiming december // how to find your voice in these dark times

well, now we are here. deep inside our caves. it’s the 4th sunday in advent, the last sunday in advent, and it is very, very dark.

the past three sundays have been marking our journey into the dark, and today we have reached the center. we are pretty much as far down and as deep as we are going to go. and now that we find ourselves in the very darkest, deepest part of our advent journey, the question is… what happens now?

right now is precisely why we don’t like the dark. it’s all encompassing. it’s heavy. it’s lonely. it’s getting old. and we are left alone with our thoughts. oh, those thoughts that creep up in the middle of the night, in the dark, when no one else is around.

and right now, as i sit here, at midnight, i feel all cozy and comfy, but i also feel the rut of the dark days of winter. it’s already been dark for 10 hours and there are about 9 more hours to go before the morning light begins to peek through the windows. yes, i create coziness all around me. but, i do that to save me from the harsh, tough, long hours of darkness.

as i write this post, my thoughts are swirling around how i want to create my life in 2016. i am even finding myself a bit stressed about it all. how ridiculous is that? i’m not stressed at all about the new year, but how i want to define my new year. however, something inside me tells me to wait just a couple of more days before setting my sights on the new year. to focus instead on right now.

i still have my last bit of work to do in the dark. and this work is the easiest and the hardest all at the same time.

candles advent

today, will be a very cozy, dark, quiet day. because, today, i will simply embrace and sit in the darkness. there actually is nothing to do at all. nothing at all.

all there is to do today, my friends, is to be still. to be quiet + wait. to allow ourselves to be emptied. to breathe deeply and to let go. to let it all go. everything.

and then, once we are settled and still, we listen. we feel. we discern.

i believe that it is only when we do nothing except simply sit in the deep darkness, only then, do we know what to do next.

the depths of the darkness light up our intuition. the depths of the darkness shed light on who we are + what we want. in this silent, sacred, dark place, we encounter our true selves. we connect with the universe and with god, and we realize that what god or the universe wants from us is exactly what we really want.

our intuition is the universe telling us what we really want to do. who we want to be. what kind of life we want to live.

there is no reason to stress out about what we should do, or what decision we should make. or what next year will look like. or if one decision is better than the other. we already know. our soul speaks to us and shows us the way.

it is, in fact, the deep, deep darkness that lights our path.

meditation

so, sometime during the next 24 hours, just sit. just let yourself be. feel the darkness around you and do not be afraid. remember, light is born out of the darkness. and darkness is really just a big, dense ball of potential and possibility.

find a little corner in your home. or take a walk. get someplace alone for at least 5 minutes after the sun has set. breathe deep, and just listen. listen to your soul. let your intuition guide you. and trust that the darkness is the place where you will receive the gift of strength and power and insight

it is in this darkest time of the year, in the deepest part of our caves, that we finally begin to really hear our voice.

our advent journey ends soon. i, for one, have felt the power of the darkness, of living in the present moment and simply accepting what is. and it has been inspiring. now, though, i slow down to the complete stillness of these last days of long, lonely darkness. and i let the dark engulf me, for soon it will be time to move on and back out into the light.

but, today, i soak up the chance to truly hear my soul, to let it prepare me for the journey that is to come. for just a few more days, i rest in the darkness.

advent blessings, cave dwellers. xoxo

“now i am still and plain: no more words…but deep in the darkness is god.” –  rainer marie rilke 

6 thoughts on “reclaiming december // how to find your voice in these dark times

  1. I love this series of posts on the darkness — I am sitting in the darkness allowing my word for 2016 to come to me — and there it was, arriving gracefully in the simplicity of the darkness being a ‘big, dense ball of potential and possibility’.

    Thanks my friend!

    1. I am so grateful that you appreciate this little series that I have done. I have absolutely loved it, and I have one more Sunday to go. 😉 How wonderful that your word for 2016 came to you in the darkness. I feel that mine is there in that densely packed light, but it has not been formed yet. So, we shall see. Thanks for your love and inspiration, Louise.

  2. It is so comforting to know that we don’t have to figure out our truth. It’s already inside of us, waiting to be discovered.
    Thanks for providing inspiration and serenity, as always!

    1. You are so right. What a great summary of my thoughts. It really does make such a difference to know that we have all that we need within us. Thank you for always reading, love. xoxo

  3. Oh, it’s so difficult sometimes not to jump into the new when there’s something left that needs to be dealt with. That sort of thing keeps happening to me – my brain tricking me into avoiding something that inevitably crops up later. I even justify trying to start the action by telling myself that this action is necessary in order to complete the process (which it is) and that if I don’t get started I might not be able to get it done (which would only be true if I let it) and so I start focusing on the defining (which involves making plans, for me) instead of just continuing to sit and sink a little deeper. And that last little bit of deep down darkness/inwardness I often avoid. Those depths absolutely bring forth our intuition, allowing us to connect with our truest selves. You ARE SO RIGHT that sitting for those last few moments, sinking into the depths of ourselves and solidifying our connection with the universe is what we all need, and that it cements our foundation that provides us the strength that will be required once we emerge. This cave metaphor and all these posts have really spoken to me, Liz, and made me reconsider things I already (or thought I already) knew. But they’ve reminded me of what I need to do too – and for that I thank you so very much. Your beautiful words and discussions of your triumphs and struggles are inspiring (as always) and I truly believe you have a great gift that allows you to speak Truth, from your soul and from the universe beyond. Again, thank you so much. Love to you. xoxo

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