Episode Three
We have been taught to think of darkness primarily as the absence of something.
The absence of light.
The absence of clarity.
The absence of direction.
Perhaps that is why uncertain seasons make us uncomfortable. When we cannot see what lies ahead, we assume that progress has stopped or that something has gone wrong.
But nature presents another way of understanding darkness.
Darkness does not only conceal. It also reveals.
The Stars Were Already There
Think about the stars.
They do not arrive when the sun goes down. They were present throughout the day, but the brightness of daylight prevented us from seeing them.
Night does not create the stars. It gives them the contrast required to become visible.
Then there is the moon.
It does not generate its own light. It reflects the light of the sun. Yet against the darkness of the night sky, that reflected light can illuminate an entire landscape.
Even reflected light becomes significant when the surrounding conditions are dark enough.
Nature Knows How to Shine in the Dark
Consider the firefly.
During the day, it is easily overlooked. But when night comes, its tiny flash becomes unmistakable. What seemed insignificant in daylight becomes a language in the dark.
Beneath the surface of certain oceans, bioluminescent plankton can cause dark waters to glow with blue light.
In the deepest parts of the sea, where sunlight cannot reach, some living organisms produce their own light. They do not wait for their environment to become brighter before expressing what they carry.
They have adapted to shine where they are.
Brightness is not determined only by how much light something carries. It is also influenced by the conditions surrounding it.
What Comfort Can Keep Hidden
Some qualities are difficult to recognise when everything is bright, comfortable and predictable.
- Courage may remain hidden when nothing frightens us.
- Resourcefulness may remain hidden when everything we need is readily available.
- Patience may remain hidden when everything happens on schedule.
- Loyalty may remain hidden when relationships are convenient.
- Conviction may remain hidden when everyone agrees with us.
- Discipline may remain hidden when motivation is high.
Then the conditions change.
The familiar lights disappear.
Plans stop working. Certainty gives way to questions. The road ahead becomes difficult to read.
And suddenly, something begins to shine.
A strength we did not know we possessed.
An idea that would never have emerged in comfort.
A relationship whose value we had underestimated.
A capacity that ease had never required us to use.
A voice within us that had previously been drowned out by noise.
The darkness did not necessarily create these things.
It revealed them.
The Strange Power of Contrast
A candle that appears ordinary in daylight can command attention in a dark room.
A small act of kindness becomes enormous in a season of hardship.
One honest voice becomes powerful in an atmosphere of compromise.
A little hope becomes precious when discouragement is everywhere.
Sometimes it is not that the light has become greater. It is that everything competing with it has become quieter.
This does not mean we should glorify difficult seasons. Darkness can conceal danger, distort perception and make movement more difficult.
But perhaps we should be careful not to interpret every dark season as meaningless.
When the Eyes Begin to Adjust
Human eyes demonstrate this beautifully.
When we first enter a dark place, we may see almost nothing. But if we remain still for a while, our eyes begin to adjust. Shapes emerge. Details return. What initially appeared completely empty begins to reveal its contents.
The environment may not have changed.
Our ability to perceive it has.
Perhaps this is why some answers cannot be found through panic.
They require stillness.
They require adjustment.
They require us to stop demanding daylight conditions before we are willing to take the next careful step.
There are moments when life does not need us to run faster. It needs us to see differently.
Pause and Look Again
When you find yourself in a season where the familiar lights have gone out, resist the temptation to conclude too quickly that everything valuable has disappeared.
Pause and look again.
- What has become visible now that the usual distractions are gone?
- Which relationships are proving genuine?
- What qualities are emerging within me?
- What have comfortable conditions prevented me from noticing?
- Am I truly without direction, or have my eyes simply not adjusted yet?
Darkness changes what we can see, but that is not always a disadvantage.
Sometimes it hides the road so that we can pay attention to the next step.
Sometimes it quiets external noise so that we can hear an internal conviction.
Sometimes it removes the brilliance around us so that we can finally recognise the light within us.
The stars were always there.
The firefly always carried its light.
The plankton always possessed the capacity to glow.
Darkness simply provided the environment in which their brightness could no longer be ignored.
Perhaps the same is true of you.
What this season is revealing may not have suddenly appeared. It may have been within you all along, waiting for the right contrast to become visible.
Until I come your way again next Saturday on another episode of Saturday Unwinding, where deep thoughts become life-changing conversations, remember:
Darkness does not make everything disappear. Sometimes, it reveals what the light around us would never allow us to notice.
Have a thoughtful weekend.
Tommie O.
SATURDAY UNWINDING
Where deep thoughts become life-changing conversations.