Spiritual Practices Inside Out: Light Shining in the Darkness

Light Shining in the Darkness

People walking in deep darkness have seen a great light. The light shines in great darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.

We understand spiritual life in ways personal to each of us. Some of us see spiritual life as fresh air filling our lungs and giving us new life. Other people find spiritual life by holding specific beliefs or behaving in certain ways. We may experience spiritual life in warm feelings or insightful thinking.

For me, spiritual life is light shining in the darkness.

A few days each week I am up and active before the sun rises, especially as we save daylight. Not every day, but often I see the dawning sun and the moon in the same sky.

While I love living in a place where the sun shines almost every day, the moon has always fascinated me.

The Sun and the Moon

Watching dawn is a powerful spiritual experience. Light begins to shine in deep darkness before the sun makes its presence evident. The sky starts to glow and colors make themselves known. We begin to see. Things hidden in the dark take shape and form in the light of dawn. Light seems to melt away feelings of discouragement and frustration.

Light in the darkness gives us hope.

The sun is strong and confident in its path through the day. Even when it is hidden by clouds, it is constant. We can feel its power on our skin, we can see it with our own eyes. From sunrise to sunset, the sun rules our days.

The moon is different. It has many different moods and shows us many different faces. The moon goes through phases each month. It is fascinating in its variety and changeability.

The sun is a huge ball of fire in space, giving us heat and light, making our lives possible. The moon attracts our attention not by generating its own light, but by reflecting it.

We remember the sun, even during the longest nights, is still there when we see the moon. The moon reminds us of the power of the sun and the power of reflection.

Light and Darkness in Spiritual Life

Like the sun before dawn, spiritual life is always with us even when we cannot see it. In the same way the light and heat of the sun gives us life, spiritual life sustains us.

The light of spiritual life, shining in the darkness, allows us to see. We see the world, and the people, all around us in new ways. Spiritual life shines light on deep, Sacred truths. It allows us to see what is under the surface, including within ourselves.

Like the time before dawn, spiritual life makes the darkness glow. Even when we doubt the dawn is coming, light comes into our lives. We begin to see, and things which have been hidden start to take shape and form.

We can choose to ignore the light of spiritual life, to roll over and close our eyes. Even when we decide to stay asleep, spiritual life spreads light in the world.

Not being able to tell the difference between physical light and physical darkness would be a big problem for us. We know the difference between light and dark unconsciously. Darkness is something we fear and we are drawn toward the light.

It is often more of a challenge for us to recognize and discern spiritual life. Spiritual life can reside in physical light or in physical darkness. We may be drawn to spiritual life lit only by the flame of candles.

How can we learn where to find spiritual life?

Shining Like the Moon

We can learn a great deal about spiritual life from the light of the moon.

There are people who work very hard to generate heat and light the way the sun does. They believe in their own power to make life possible. The responsibility to light a path for others weighs heavily on them.

It might help if they saw themselves more like the moon than the sun.

Like the moon, we shine light in the darkness by reflecting. We recognize and appreciate deep spiritual life and share it with others. It is not our own luminescence which is most significant, but how well we reflect light.

Spiritual life shines through us. It draws us in and we share it with people around us. Like the moon, our light depends on our relationship to its source.

Bathed in Moonlight

We experience changes and phases in spiritual life. There are times when our light is full and round, and others when it is a thin sliver. We do not reveal ourselves in the full glare of the sun, but are bathed in the glow of moonlight.

I know people who feel shame because they are not the sun. They expect themselves to generate light to fill the sky. It is as if they are frustrated not to be the source of spiritual life. They see themselves are only reflecting it.

We sometimes forget how toxic an environment the sun actually is. We need the sun to live, but must maintain a safe distance. The moon, by contrast, is a place we have visited.

Like the moon, we provide evidence the sun exists even when it is night. Before the dawn, in the first glimmer of each day’s light, we remain to light the sky.

This morning, the sun once again began its daily journey through the sky. Tonight the moon will again travel a similar path. Our reflection, like the moon’s, reminds us spiritual life exists even when it seems so far away.

When is the last time you watched the light of the sun emerge in the darkness?

How are you reflecting the light of  spiritual life this week?

[Image by Bird Brian]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California.  Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].