What we FIND in the Shadows
Mining the darkness for gemstones
First off, if you understand where I got the title, you are my people. If you don’t, you are in for a treat. There’s a TV show called “What We Do in the Shadows,” a ridiculous comedy about a group of vampires. Find it. Watch it. You’re welcome.
It’s a gem. And that’s fitting, because gems are the topic of this post. Gems come from deep inside the earth. They develop under conditions of darkness and extreme pressure.
We in the USA are entering a time of darkness and extreme pressure from all sides. Our instinct might be to close our eyes, crouch low, and hide until we come out the other side of this part of our journey. But that’s not what the journey is for. That would be wasting an important part of our life experience.
We need to explore this cave as we move through it. Because there is wisdom here. There are gemstones to be mined.
But first, I want to be very clear that what’s happening nationally, is not different from what we face throughout our lives. It’s the same pattern, just on a larger scale. There’s a longer cycle cycling here, but it’s still just the laws of the universe playing out.
First, What’s Happening
The process and the pattern are the same, and this, at least, is predictable.
Something that needs changing doesn’t get changed, because we as a people are so comfortable where we are. So a “problem” erupts, and worsens until it makes us uncomfortable enough with the status quo to make the needed change. We make the change, life is better, things are good again, we get comfortable again, so comfortable that when some little thing comes along that needs changing, we can’t be bothered, and the cycle repeats.
The way to make for gentler cycles, is to train ourselves to notice “problems” when they are tiny inconveniences or irritations, and to adjust ourselves accordingly so they don’t need to grow into full-blown crises to get our attention.
So there were things that needed to change, and we didn’t feel like making the changes, and so the things got worse, and we still didn’t make the needed changes, and now we’re in the biggest crisis our nation has ever faced.
The problem gets bigger until it makes enough of us so uncomfortable with the status quo that we become willing to make the needed changes.
So that’s what’s happening. We are in the “contrast” part of the repeating cycle of our evolution. This is the part where it becomes unbearable not to act. Things will keep getting worse until enough of us are willing to grow past it, to let the problems go and embrace the solutions, to evolve into the society we want, instead of the one we have, which is only a mirror of who we are at this moment.
Mining the Dark Cave
So here we are. We are in the dark cave. The only way out is through. We can’t go backward, only forward. We have no choice but to be here at this moment, so we might as well see what there is for us here.
The purpose of life is experience. We’re going to have to experience it, but we don’t have to wallow in it. Wallowing will make it last longer. Cowering and covering our eyes will, too. We have to stand up, take a look around, get our new bearings, and move forward.
And as we move, we scan the darkness, and here and there we see gemstones gleaming.
In less euphemistic terms, we’re going to find joys, pleasures, and wins all along the way in every imaginable area. The most abundant jewels will be the ones closest to us. These times, like all times, will be filled with family and people we love. Gathering with them, celebrating with them and for them, these are some of the brightest gems of all. I find gemstones in every visit, every text, every phone call with every daughter, grandchild, and dear friend.
Other glimmering bits might be moments spent in nature, basking in its beauty and power, its warmth and its cold, its sunshine and its storms. I take my work outside often, but more often would be better. I watch birds and wildlife who share my space. I relish the wooded hillsides and blue skies.
There are parts of my home that fill me with joy, too, and the parts that don’t, ought to. We should make every space we occupy feel like our own personal paradise. The process of doing that is another gemstone to gather, and the result, another light in which to bask.
Our passions, interests, hobbies, and jobs can also be gemstones glittering for us. Every accomplishment, every win, every project finished, every new one begun, every reward, paycheck, or perk, all of these are sources of crystalline light, gleaming from the walls of every dark cave we must traverse.
On a wider scale, societal wins are happening worldwide. We mustn’t let the temporary setbacks in one part of the world blind us to the successes and progress elsewhere. A lot of excellent things are happening in many places in the world.
I recommend FixtheNews.com where you can sign up to get their free newsletter, which is jam packed with good news from around the world. It’s good to keep one’s perspective. Goodness thrives in the world. We just happen to be having a dark moment. News of positive progress is another beautiful crystal we can collect from the cave as we move through.
As we gather, so we gleam
As we move along, looking for and therefore finding each gleaming gem and gathering it close, we notice that we are beginning to glow. The more delights we find along the path, the more love we imbibe, the greater our glow becomes. And soon our glow is lighting the darkness. We find it, absorb it, and reflect it right back. We’re not in the dark anymore because we are becoming the light.
Because of the darkness, we’re becoming the light.
And that’s the purpose of the dark times.
In the daylight, we might not notice all the little gems. When everything’s good, the good stuff becomes normal. We start to take it for granted. We forget to bask in it so we can become it. But the little wrinkles that mess up our norm, those get our attention for sure. And what gets our attention grows, and what doesn’t get our attention falls away.
On the darker parts of our journey, we can see the good things in our lives shining more brightly than ever before. We’re inspired to absorb their light and become better.
But beyond revealing the blessings we might’ve come to take for granted, the dark parts of the journey do more. They build our momentum, they fuel our tanks.
That’s their ultimate purpose, after all, to force our evolution, to launch us on a quantum leap forward into a state far better than the one that came before the cave.
So look for the gems, and gather them close, and as you absorb their light and begin to glow, shine your beam on those who need it.
Remember we’re all in this cave together, and remember too that the journey is going to be easier and shorter for some of us, and longer and darker for others. Be ever aware of that. Share your light, and lend a hand.
ON SALE TUESDAY!
“Maggie Shayne is better than chocolate!”
New York Times bestselling author SUZANNE FORSTER
