Without darkness, there would be – no light. It is within the darkness that we learn the things we were sent here to learn.

Ego

It is only ego that condemns darkness, making it something we should feel terror toward. The ego tells us stories about ourselves that we have come to believe is who we are and we to our own detriment protect this illusion with all our might. Without the darkness we wouldn’t be guided to our truest purpose. It is through the breakdown in the darkness that we breakthrough into the light. We are here to ascend after all.

We are not on this planet to gain as many materialistic items as we can, to show ourselves off and get the best high-ranking jobs or earn the most money, these things are great but is this truly what matters when we are faced with our mortality? We are here, to learn and return to source.

Gratitude

Happiness does not derive from what we can get out of this world and we have become alarmingly far from this core truth, blinding humanity from the innate love that resides within us all.

There is a short writing I heard once which goes like this: 

“We know so many people that have every reason to be happy but they are miserable. Why? Because of ingratitude. So what we just discovered, it is not happiness that makes us grateful – it is our gratitude that makes us happy. Tell me, who is the happier one? A man says “life is hard, my home Is damp.” The grateful one says “Yes, but most of it is okay.””

How can we be grateful if we do not know what it feels to be ungrateful, how can we be happy if we do not know what it is to be sad. How can we feel ease, if we do not know what hardship feels like. How can we expect light without any darkness?

Truth

When we contemplate this truth, we are sure to see that the darkness is not to be scared of but a guide to our greater good. Though it’s painful when in the throes of it, it will pass. Though we delay the speed of that when we stay trapped within the ego only.

When we are experiencing the darkness the mind will hound you with thoughts of “why me?”, “Why must it always be so hard for me?”, ” I am not worthy of good, bad things always happen to me.” This keeps us locked in a perpetual cycle of harm to ourselves and others. It is in this place that self will run riot, acting out of behaviours which do not serve our greater good, furthering us from the objective of growth and learning. 

Faith

Faith in the darkness is paramount, it whispers “what is there to learn here, what would source have me do?” Here is when the seed breaks, we sprout and begin to lean towards the light, preparing to be nourished by the foundations and blossom into the individual we were always meant to be.

How beautiful this truth really is. What is waiting for you on the other side of fear? It is in your deepest wounds, where you will find your truest purpose. 

Faith will envelop you in the warmest and safest embrace, on your total reliance upon it. Divine love wants us to know that whatever way you turn, it’s there.

The darkness has a way of taking us all to our knees and screaming out for help at one or two, or maybe more, times in our lives but how many times have we remembered that embrace of source once the problem has gone away. How many times have we thanked it for guiding us through it? How many times are we stunned in our lives by something unexplainable, a total blessing admits the heaviness.

Remembering our higher power when we are at ease will deepen our connection to it when the inevitable darkness comes back around. Being in a state of gratitude will keep us in the sunlight of the spirit. Paul Coelho says:

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that really isn’t you, so that you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”

This rings so true to all of us, what were the dreams we held before friends, family, society told us we couldn’t achieve them?

Heart With Mind

Our greatest chance of understanding is to drop down into the heart and find the liberation in the statement that “when we come to realise that all we know is that we know nothing, we will reach peace.” Gaining knowledge is a helpful act and tool but ultimately it will not set you free though it gives this impression, be not fooled by the power of the ego, it will do all it can to not be seen.

We cannot get rid of the ego but we can come to deeply feel that it is not who we are and so we can begin to choose whether we respond to what the ego tells us or the heart tells us.

Connecting with source is not a matter of the mind, the mind cannot comprehend what only the heart can. The mind cannot fathom infinite source. We cannot think our way into freedom, the irony is freedom is already what you are. We are born from infinite source and we so shall return to infinite source.

The journey from the head to the heart is a journey of feeling, not thinking. Each and every one of us are magnificent, bold, colourful pieces of art, created by the same Artist. 

Love

Love reveals to us that we are all a part of something much bigger, it shows us the truth. That we are all connected like that of tree roots with infinite potential. It is our calling to return back to this whole and complete state of being.

When we put trust into “self”, trying to desperately control what was never ours to control we find we will get tossed about by the waves of life until they sink us. When we surrender that control, trust source – no matter the size of the waves, we will be safe, a safety that washes over you so profoundly.

Surrender is done with total conviction in the heart & this sometimes has to happen time and time again. Darkness, the great teacher has the ability to bring us to that place if we listen closely to it without getting trapped in it. 

The more unveiled we become, the deeper connection we have to unconditional love, the deeper we can connect with all of creation. When we feel love, we start to see it, we start to attract it, we emanate it. Connecting with people superficially starts to drop away, we begin to meet people’s hearts.

No longer are we interested in what another can give us or what we can get from them, we become interested in the song of their spirit. The rhythm in which their heart beats.

Authenticity

We stop trying to sell ourselves to people to gain approval by declaring what we have, what we look like or what we think the other person wants us to be. We all have the ability to become the chameleon.

The more comfortable we become in ourselves the more we are free to be in our authenticity and in doing so, we immediately create vast space where the other person can show up in their authentic self too. We don’t just merely notice another’s eyes anymore, we are able to look into them. We don’t just listen to respond, we begin to listen because we want to hear them.

Sometimes the best thing we can say, is nothing. Sometimes a person just requires space to express and be heard rather than fixed. When we stop comparing ourselves, our pain, our experiences or our opinions, we create room for growth & we gift the other with a chance to be seen. This act is so powerful.

For many of us, we go through life feeling unseen, unheard and misunderstood. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if you could make someone feel the beauty of feeling heard and seen today?

When we are truly comfortable with who we are, we are rarely offended by a vicious tongue, we understand that a person can only respond or react from the condition of their heart. We stop being so bothered by what others may think of us, we are liberated within this.

Naturally we stop being attracted to situations which cause us harm, we simply let people like this go with love remembering always that we all suffer with a spiritual malady to whatever degree. Things we used to tolerate or accept that harmed us, we will no longer allow. When you step into love and it begins to purify the heart, unblocking what was blocked, people that are not meant for you will begin to drop away.

Final Thoughts

I will finish with a poem I wrote and wishing you all deep guidance on your journey hoping that this has reached the heart of another and made a difference somehow. Listen to the whispers of the heart, step out of the way and let go of the mind’s story. Your heart will never give up on you, everything you have resides within you and all around you in the spirit of this great universe. 

Flow – 

I surrender and let go, 

Resting in life’s perfect flow.

I stepped aside and took a rest, 

Honouring the universe’s divine tests.

Hand on my heart I followed my truth,

Grieving all that was lost in my youth. 

The tears fell but the smiles grew,

Stepping towards a light I always knew.

A weary traveller returning home, 

Delving deep inside where I could roam.

In fields drenched with hues of gold, 

Where warmth starved out the cold.

Held in the mercy of unconditional love, 

For I am within what’s below and above.

The simplicity within complex designing, 

Where soul, mind and body begin aligning. 

Lydia x 

Thank you to Lydia (Escott Art) for providing us with such a wonderful article.

You can interact with Lydia, and take a look at some of her fabulous wire art, via Instagram – @escottart.

Check out Lydia’s bio on our Guest Page and look out for more about her in our “Interview with Lydia” post coming next month.

If you have an idea, story, poem, or any other contribution you would like to share with our community then consider becoming a guest – use our Contact page, or drop us a line through social media, to discuss the details.