I feel called to write this in the heart of deep Winter, when darkness descends early upon the earth and evening waking hours are spent shrouded in a blanket of dark.
There is beauty to be found in every season. I believe this wholeheartedly, yet as Winter took hold and the days begun to shorten, I felt myself saddened at the first few after dark arrivals home from work. Rather than dwell in this sadness, I chose to gently accept the current season we are held in and romanticise the glimmers from only this moment in time, rather than rebelling against it.
There is beauty and magic and wonder to be found in the dark.
I recently listened to this thought provoking podcast episode from The Wholehearted Podcast — ‘The Dark Sky’. I would really love to one day read Paul’s book. In our modern world, saturated with artificial light, it is so easy to discover we have lost touch with the beauty and wonder of natural darkness.
In very small ways I have been celebrating and cherishing the dark. Gazing at the stars, watching the sun sink below the horizon and the shifting colours in the sky as darkness descends, lighting a campfire in the backyard and opting out of adding any artificial light, lighting a candle or lighting spaces with lamps rather than the bright downlights. It these very simple and small ways I have kindled a love of the dark.
I fondly recall a special night cloaked in darkness spent in Tasmania last year…
Whilst visiting family we braved the cold to visit a local cafe in the evening for ‘Park After Dark’. It was such a wholesome night that filled my heart and will stay with me forever. It inspired the following words ~
Warmed heart from mulled wine and fireside chats swapping stories and sips under the light of the harvest moon.
‘Harvest Moon’ iPhone capture.
That night serves as a reminder that beautiful, heartwarming moments can take place after dark.
The dark holds a particular kind of magic.
It is darkness that veils the sky as the moon rises high. It is the darkness that makes the stars shine.
May you be held gently in beautiful darkness. I hope you too can revel in the magic of the dark.
— K
A simple journal prompt —
The light in the dark is…