I have heard poet/mystic James Finley wisely teach that when you come to a fork in the road, you either despair or go deeper. The darkness that descends when dreams are shattered is that fork, and eventually we will all stand in that place. When it was my turn, everything in me wanted things to return to the way they had been before my dreams swirled away from me. My powerlessness to bring this about was my first conscious encounter with Life itself. The future was shrouded in mystery, and old, unhealed wounds fought their way to the surface to be recognized. The dark seemed insurmountable.
But poet Dorothy Walters offers the advice that I needed: “First let your heart be broken open.” In order to go deeper, the pain had to be met and experienced. Within the pain were the vital questions that wanted to be heard. Concealed within the darkness was the unfolding light. To flee the darkness would be to flee the light.
—from the book Stars at Night: When Darkness Unfolds as Light
by Paula D’Arcy
