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| Photo by Jim Doty Jr |
Winter Solstice approaches in the northern hemisphere, a season marked by long hours of darkness. Having previously emphasized the magic of the incremental return of light that follows winter solstice, this year I want to herald the power of darkness and the healing mystery that it brings.
It is no wonder that many of us do not like darkness. Sight is often the most dominant of our six senses. An inability to see unknowns lying hidden in darkness makes us fearful and apprehensive. Still, in the big picture, winter’s deep silence is also an opportunity to rest our eyes and allow other senses to play a significant role.
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| Image from Science News |
Something truly remarkable happens when we allow ourselves to sleep for longer periods of time. Unsuspected possibilities find nurture in nightly retreats, allowing for the incubation of barely conscious ideas. Dreams emerge with mosaics of long forgotten memories. Tiny seeds in our imagination sprout invisible roots. All of this remains unseen for weeks or months, prompting our rational mind to suggest that nothing is happening. We become impatient for this mysterious process to morph into clarity and visual evidence that our time of rest has not been wasted.
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| Photo from ABC News Australia |
I am emerging from a long period of darkness. The decade I devoted to exploring humanity’s ancestral roots was similar to a long hibernation. Now that Seed of Imagination has been published, similar to Rip van Winkle, my refreshed eyes are discovering how the world from which I withdrew has changed. Walking in downtown Eugene, familiar landmarks are gone, replaced by strange shops with unusual facades. While I was sequestered in my studio and at the computer, some enterprises died. New ones have taken their place, or an empty space was left for something else to emerge.
Fear not.
If you welcome it,
darkness can be your friend.
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| Image from St Louis Science Center |
