Move Into The Light

Move to the light

It’s normal to be apprehensive when we feel vulnerable and when we can’t see clearly it contributes to that vulnerability. In other words, being afraid of the dark and yes, when I was little, I was very afraid of the dark. It didn’t help that we lived in a creaky old house built somewhere in the late 1800s. We use to hear all sorts of things going bump in the night all the time. We all said it was haunted because sometimes there seemed no other explanation for what we heard in the next dark room over. I never knew what was out there, what was making the noise, and it was that feeling of not knowing that always had me scared. I’ll admit that even as an adult, I’ve had those times I just feel the creeps. Sometimes it’s the movies or TV shows that we watch. I’m embarrassed to say that there were a few haunted shows on the Travel channel that had me turning all the lights on!

I’d always wondered, is it just me or am I the only one who admits it? I watched the movie “The Conjuring” and parts of it had me jumping. The house in the move of similar in architecture style and age as the house I grew up in and took me right back to being 8 years old hiding under the blankets because I heard things out in the darkness. It was more than just lack of light in the movie that was so dark. The evil possession of the house was yet another darkness to be afraid of. I had to find out how common this fear is, and what cures it … as in all these

types of darkness; lack of light and otherwise.

I started reading articles and found out that I’m not alone. A lot of people just like me. Just a few weeks back, the March 1st USA Today had an article on it were it said that eleven percent of the population admits to being afraid of the dark. (and I’m pretty sure the rest had just admitted to being liars!).

Dr. Gene Beresin of Harvard Medical said that “Not being able to see as well increases anxiety, uncertainty and tension and this can lead to fear of the dark in any age group.”. So I guess I’m not so unusual. The article also said that "Fear is triggered by a real or perceived threat. The global pandemic has evoked much uncertainty in different aspects of all our lives."1

But all of that is beside the point. We fear what we don’t know. In the dark, there’s a lot we don’t know.

The term darkness is also associated with ignorance. How many times have we all heard the term “are you going to keep me in the dark?”

An article I read reinforced this thought where it said “Ever since pagan days, winter was also time for the reckoning and for the victory of light over darkness and, on the 25 December, the Romans would celebrate the festival of Sol Invictus (unconquered sun). The unconquered sun would be born again vanquishing all evil.

The battle between darkness and light is a battle as old as the stars and the narrative has taken on different threads in different eras. In today’s world, the darkness is that described by Shakespeare’s fool in Twelfth Night when he declaims that “there is no darkness but ignorance,” Ignorance, as opposed to knowledge, is that weapon used to oppress, abuse and befuddle.

But again, the cure for this darkness is also light, or like they say “enlighten me.”

Darkness is also associated with sadness. In art class, when assessing the mood of a painting, you look to the shading. The darker the shading, the darker the mood of the painting. Paintings like The Scream by Edvard Munch is are excellent examples of not only the mood but of mental stability as well. Just looking at the painting I can feel the tortured soul with every brushstroke.

Continuing with the theme of dark, mood disorders are also called the “Dark Side”2 , referring to the unpleasant and unwanted thoughts that lead to depression.

Evil needs to be part of this conversation too. I couldn’t ever list the books and movies with reference to evil being dark. You can’t watch any of the Star Wars franchise without seeing someone being enticed into evil. People on line are a buzz wondering if Baby Yoda is actually going conjuring the Dark Side.

But there is a cure; a cure for all of this. Whether it be ordinary darkness, ignorance, mood, mental health, or just plain evil. It’s LIGHT! Be it metaphoric or photonic, it’s light.

When I was really small and hiding under my covers (because everyone knows that blankets are an effective barrier from monsters in the dark), it was usually an older brother or sister would turn the light back on so I could move around freely …. without fear.