The day after US Thanksgiving is celebrated as a day of shopping: “Black Friday,” when the merchants hope to end the year in the black. But what if we celebrated Black Friday as a day of honoring the growing darkness of the season? Black Friday could celebrate the mystery of the dark, the beauty of the night sky, the richness of the dark earth, the restfulness of the dark evening time.
What experiences or images of the dark call most deeply to you?
What an nteresting thought! A lot of vivid pictures instantly flashed through my mind when I read that. Two or three stood out for me.
The first one is me at age 12 trampling through the snow, delivering newspapers in the darkness of November’s early evening, alone with my thoughts. Quiet, cold, slightly bored, imagining what it will be like when I am finally a young adult, with all the freedoms and responsibilities that come with being older.
The next one is me at age 19, parked in the woods, very late at night, in the cool summer breeze, with a beautiful young girl who would later become my wife (and BTW, she still is beautiful and still my wife 36 years later), exploring the depths of passion and discovering what it really means to be alive.
Fast forward 20 years, it’s me in my late 30’s as a Cub Scout Leader, with my son and a group of boys sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories. Now they are the young boys discovering the wonders of the night and my job is to protect them and guide them and see that they have fun learning. It’s a fun time for me too.
Finally, as a grown man (mostly) of today sitting on my patio outside my rural home, under the autumn moon, playing one of my beloved string instruments, entertaining and challenging myself to expand my musical abilities. The darkness and stillness of the evening is conducive to my music. The banjo is especially nice in the dark as it rings and echoes down the hollow behind my house. It’s like I am jamming with nature and I find it inspiring.
If it sounds like I love the darkness, I guess I do. I feel more in touch with my thoughts and feelings nestled in the intamcy of the night sky. Ray Charles was correct, IMO. “Night time is the right time…”
The best part of darkness are the tiny points of light as they reveal themselves to the mind, to the heart, to the eye. Our small town fosters “Dark Skies” which fosters street light directed down to brighten the stars above.
I’m with Nicki in that my favorite images of darkness are of the light that still remains: stars, jack-o-lanterns, the moon, candles, Christmas lights, etc. Without the darkness, these wouldn’t be nearly as beautiful – and without the light, I can’t see anything at all, beautiful or not.
What experiences or images of the dark call most deeply to you?…
“mystery of the night, … the dark of the earth …” – I love the romance of the dark; and I spend a lot of my time “romancing the Dark” – I push boundaries; I purposefully/defiantly break taboos. I don’t do it to be “evil” or anti-Societal-norms. I appreciate boundaries; but, if I really trust in them, I should not have any problem having them challenged, or challenging them, myself. And, if those boundaries move a little ( or a lot) – then … if I “really” trust in them, I will follow their lead; and expand my own boundaries, to match them. And, if that carries me further into the Dark – if I believe, then I have to believe those boundaries are still there … guide-posts, to show me which way and how far to go.
Namaste & Bright Blessings!
Dwayne