Seeing in the Dark

This is Part 12 in a series on vision. You can read previous installments here:
Part 1. Part 2. Part3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11.

Great visionaries develop the skill to see in the dark.

What does this mean?

If you want to heal the wounds of the world, to incite meaningful change in the lives of others or even just yourself, you must be willing to look at the wounds. To fix what’s broken, you must first see what’s broken.

To heal, to come to wholeness, requires integration of the shadows. Integration requires that we first see them. If you want to live a life of greater meaning, you must be willing to stop and examine where meaning is lacking in your life. If you’re feeling stuck in your path, you must examine your patterns and the subconscious forces that are arising to sabotage you.

All of this requires that you spend time sitting in the shadows, exploring and understanding the darker forces of your subconscious that drive your actions; these are the parts of ourselves that we have disowned and pushed away. You must look directly at the wounds. And you must be wiling to acknowledge what’s not working.

It is, understandably, a place that we don’t really like to visit. Who wants to sit in the dark? The darkness of our inner world, of our subconscious, is an uncomfortable place. Unless you get comfortable there, you’ll continually come up against the same blocks and sabotaging patterns.

What about being happy and optimistic? Having a positive vibe?

There is a time and place for optimism and enthusiasm, but if everything is always “fantastic” then that means you’re not looking at what isn’t working. And if you’re not looking at what isn’t working, you’re not able to make changes to adjust and adapt.

There’s often confusion about darkness and “negativity.” You can have a positive outlook even while you sit in the darkness. Sitting in the darkness is what enables us to step more fully into our light. The darkness contains the light. The light contains the darkness. They are not an either/or proposition.

So you must get comfortable sitting in the darkness.

Like any dark space, the longer you sit in it, the more your eyes adjust and the more you are able to see.

Great vision is cultivated in the darkness.