I am the dark; I am the light

My dear Ohana (friends, family, and “strangers”),

I’ve been thinking about you and sending you loving vibes in hopes of drawing out what is hidden and forgotten within you, Love.

The months leading up to the US election were crazy, but have you ever been through an election that wasn’t? It’s just the way things are, or the proverbial nature of the beast. But here we are, on the other side of the sea. The sun still rises and sets. The Universe with all of us in it, still embraces the all in Unconditional Love. I trust you are doing well. 

Our friend sent me this precious poem the other day, How Dark The Beginning by Maggie Smith:

How Dark The Beginning

By Maggie Smith

All we ever talk of is light—
let there be light, there was light then,

good light—but what I consider
dawn is darker than all that.

So many hours between the day
receding and what we recognize

as morning, the sun cresting
like a wave that won’t break

over us—as if  light were protective,
as if  no hearts were flayed,

no bodies broken on a day
like today. In any film,

the sunrise tells us everything
will be all right. Danger wouldn’t

dare show up now, dragging
its shadow across the screen.

We talk so much of  light, please
let me speak on behalf

of  the good dark. Let us
talk more of how dark

the beginning of a day is.

I have been pondering on Smith’s poem since I got it, especially her envoi or closing message. Like a slow unveiling, this gradually came to me during my morning meditation moment in bed; that is, being still and quiet. I hope it gives you some peace and comfort as it did for me. Namasté.

I am the Dark; I am the Light

By Daniel Chow

Once upon a time

I feared the dark

My eyes could not see

Through the thickness of the dark

I filled in the dark

With my monkey mind

Like a projection in the dark theatre

I watched fictions unfold

Then one day, as the dark approached

I cowered not, I stood still

In silence, I observed how the light

Gracefully gave way to the dark

As the dark gracefully gave

Way to the light on the other side

Peace embraced my heart

It quietly spoke

Be still my beloved

It is only I

I am the Dark

I am the Light

Rest