Balane: Bringing Darkness to the Light by Asha Jackson
There is a time for everything. With the Autumn Equinox on September 23rd, came a perfectly balanced 24 hour period of half day and half night. As summer ended, so did long days and short nights. With the fall and winter, come shorter days and longer nights. The Autumn Equinox also coincided with the start of Libra season. A time for balancing the scales. Equality. Justice. Peace. While I am a fan of summer and a worshipper of the sun, this season is reminding me that the darkness is just as important as the light. While it has been a priority for me to remain positive on my spiritual journey and focus on love, light, and all those happy things, the darkness is ever present. Fear, pain, hurt, and negativity exist in the world. Young black men are killed by the police, women are raped, children are starving and people are hopeless. That’s real. It would be naïve of me to ignore the horrible things that are happening in this world everyday and act like it’s all rainbows and butterflies. And although my life doesn’t reflect the immensity of those just mentioned, I go through my own personal delves into darkness at times. I get frustrated, lonely, insecure, jealous, bored, embarrassed, and feel lost. To ignore this spectrum of emotions just because it’s not sunny and bright wouldn’t be living. I feel to truly embrace this ride called life, you can’t just go down the straight and narrow path.
What is joy without pain? Or self confidence without insecurity? Light without dark?
The beautiful thing about light is, it is birthed from darkness. Just as the dawn rises out of the thick of the twilight sky, so too do I when I’m feeling low. Allowing myself to feel whatever emotion, no matter how much it hurts; with the release comes a calm after the storm. This equinox has taught me that too much of anything isn’t good, even if it’s positive. For peace and harmony to occur, whether on a personal, communal, national, or global level, an acknowledgment of the dysfunctional/negative/bad is necessary to be able to turn into functional/positive/good. Let’s create balance in our lives and the world by recognizing what’s not so pretty with honest open eyes, minds and hearts. Let’s bring the darkness to the light.
ASHA JACKSON
Asha aims to share love, understanding, and insight through her writing. On her own spiritual journey, writing allows her to share with the world and reaffirm OUR oneness with the universe. To read more, check out her blog at http://ashestoasha.tumblr.
Asha, thanks so much for blessing us with your words and wisdom sistar!