reclaiming december // the mystery of the dark

when it’s dark, there are no details. no exacts or specifics. everything is formless. and in that formlessness lies the possibility of creation.

what may be formed… well, that, my friends is a mystery.

it’s the same as waking up on the first day of a new year. 365 days lie out in front of us, and what will happen during those days, how they will be filled, remains a secret. a mystery. it all must simply unfold.

however, let’s be honest. that’s a bit unnerving, while at the same time exciting. just letting life unfold and all that. when we cannot know, we often find ourselves a bit insecure. or at the very least, curious. we want to know. we want to understand. we want to see.

but, i have come to learn, that true life lies in the mysterious. true peace is found when we embrace the unknown.

when we are able to live with the questions, instead of pushing for the answers, we allow all to life to unfold. and we become a co-creator of life. we wait and accept and dwell in the mystery; while at the same time we create and make the present moment exactly as we wish. yes, we have that power. and, yet, we are powerless. we are able to decide right here and right now how we want to live, to soak in the moment and be aware + mindful. but, we do not have the power to predict.

then again, who really wants to?

if there is one thing that i have learned, it is that dwelling (oh, how i love that word. warning:  i’m gonna use it a lot because it’s a perfect companion to mystery) in the darkness, in the midst of the unknown, keeps me aligned and open. and, in staying aligned and open and grounded, i am thrust deep into the settled places in my soul and fly wild + free, high among the stars, at the same time.

by dwelling in the darkness, i find that i don’t need to know. that the nothingness of mystery is a gift.

the darkness of winter for us in the northern hemisphere teaches us that there is much to be found in nothing. yes, in the formlessness of the dark days that we are in right now, everything is possible. how that is, i don’t know. i can’t explain. but, in my spiritual studies and in my life, and yes, in nature, i have learned that out of chaos comes creation, out of the darkness comes light. that which is hidden becomes manifest.

but, darkness and mystery always come first. just because in that formless, mysterious state… all things are possible. and all things, even the secrets and mysteries of life, can be made known. not known with our heads and our rational thoughts, but known with our souls and our hearts. we may not be able to explain, but we experience.

and it is only in the silence of the darkness that mysteries are revealed. 

“In our practice—no matter if it is prayer, mantra, meditation, mindfulness or dance—if we contemplate deeply on the implications of darkness, of the primordial state, we are likely to be ushered into the silence of being.  If we think deeply of the darkness, as that which is removed from duality—that which is before hot and cold, light and dark, male and female—we might understand the supreme androgyny, the unity of being.” – jacob crisp

when we embrace the darkness, listen to the silence, and immerse ourselves in the mystery, then we create a space in which we can meet the oversoul, an incredible word that ralph waldo emerson uses to describe a God who resides in each of us and with whom we can communicate. in other words, simply spirit. and that, my dear cave dwelling friends, is a mystery in itself.

but, it is that deep mystery that i believe in that is at the core of who i am. the mystery and belief that universal energy or spirit connects us all… to each other, to nature, to the heavens and the spirits. to things unknown and known. and it is here, in the darkness and the silence, that tiny mysteries and experiences are quietly revealed. and it is here that we come to know who we truly are.

and suddenly, magically, a flame is lit within us. a light begins to softly glow. and, in the mystery + silence of the dark, we become light bearers. like saint lucia, whom we celebrate today in sweden. lucia symbolizes bringing light into the darkness,  a reminder that light always overcomes the dark.

and then, evening the midst of the cold and the dark, we discover the incredible balance of accepting and dwelling in the darkness, and embodying and living the light. perhaps this is the greatest mystery of all, of learning to truly be alive.

advent blessings to you all. xoxo