Blog by Alan Seale, December 20, 2021, Transformational Presence
As this holiday season unfolds during ongoing uncertain times, I offer this poem – Dark Nights and Heavenly Light – in hopes that it brings you comfort and rest in your soul.
Dark Nights and Heavenly Light
It’s been quite a year.
I said the same thing last year, yet
here we are.
I don’t find many words.
I feel a lot, yet
words don’t begin to capture all that I feel.
It’s okay.
Well, not always, but mostly.
Once again,
I’m remembering that
being quiet and being present
are sometimes the best things
I can do.
In fact,
every part of my being right now
seems to demand stillness.
An intentional and attentive stillness
that I’ve practiced for years,
yet I feel like
I’m just starting to know.
I’m learning about life in ways
I never expected.
Who would have ever thought
we would be where we are? Yet
here we are.
Who would have imagined
I would be pondering the things
I ponder now? Yet
here I am.
How is it for you?
This time of year
where I live,
the nights are long and dark and crisp cold.
The stars are magnificent—
shimmering points of light
scattered across the black sky.
Heavenly light
that can only be seen in the dark.
Yet down here on the earth,
the dark night can be disorienting.
Boundaries can become blurry.
Thoughts can become muddled.
Things that seemed so clear in the light of day—
or that I stayed too busy to think about—
get fuzzy.
Sometimes scary.
And those muddled scary thoughts
refuse to be ignored.
Especially at 3 am.
But the thing is,
when I remain still and present with the muddled scary
longer than is comfortable,
I begin to see and understand in ways that were
hidden from me in the light of day.
Maybe that’s the heavenly light breaking through.
I keep learning.
Sometimes it takes the darkest dark
to show me the real light—
the true light that is there—
always and forever there—
to guide me forward.
See for the audio: https://transformationalpresence.org/downloads/misc/dark-nights-and-heavenly-light.m4a?inf_contact_key=de98e56151f38c01ea4c733fac9f5a67680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1~ ~ ~