Sweet Darkness
When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone,
no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb
tonight.
The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
“Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte
I love these words by David Whyte. I have always associated this poem with the “dark night of the soul” but I think some may also find it appropriate for the world’s current circumstances. We have all been forced to slow down or stop, to distance ourselves from others or to be alone. Routine and excess have been stripped from us.
With the egocentricity of our society, I do worry that this abrupt deviation into a more soul-focused lifestyle caused by coronavirus could potentially create some dark nights. On the plus side, I do see it causing a collective raising of frequency which I LOVE! The darkness always brings the light!
I would recommend using the situation to reflect and learn and instead of focusing on all of the things you could or should be doing, you can really refine and define the things you want and need to be doing most. Though I am very much looking forward to things returning to “normal”, I still love my life in “quarantine” and have found it easy to focus on the positives. i know that is not the case for everyone.
We all have things that fill us with a fiery passion and make us feel alive and we all have people (friends, family, significant others) who allow us to be our most authentic expression of self around them. Someday soon, we will have a new sense of normal and now is the time to decide what and who we want to include in that new normal.
For myself, I have been able to re-ignite my joy for cooking and baking. The forced time at home has allowed me to cook and bake more often and it’s also forced me to get creative and deal with lack. With ingredients constantly sold out at the grocery store it is hard to plan meals but I have enjoyed making what I can with what I have. It’s made me more aware of how much I one day long to have a large garden and grow my own food, with chickens laying eggs and all of that good stuff!
Having said that, I don’t think I will ever take for granted the experience of going to a restaurant or bar again. I miss the outside energy of people and being social, trying new foods and looking forward to Friday night drinks after a week of work!
I am also feeling very grateful for my reiki practice. I have had a friend reach out desperate for some reiki which I was happy to deliver through a distance session. Practicing reiki fills me with joy and the fact that I can use it not only on myself but in order to make others feel better and be their best self is amazing. I am so looking forward to returning to in-person sessions when this is over.
I’ve also been able to focus on how I want my holistic nutrition practice to look. I’m hoping that people will continue to use online means for their health needs as I would love to see clients for online consultations. I’ll also be starting up a couple of online programs with a focus on intuitive eating.
I’ve been able to spend extra time with my dog, Flokie. While I am at work, she is usually at doggy daycare or on an adventure walk with a dog walker. I’ve loved the extra time I get to spend with her and the weather has been so beautiful, it has been a pleasure to get those steps in every day.
I’ve been connecting with friends through Facetime and the odd social distance visit. The situation has brought me closer to some great people and I look forward to making the time to connect with them in person when this is over. I’ve heard many people talk of putting in increased effort into friendships and I look forward to seeing how that manifests. I think collectively we will have stronger and more meaningful social bonds which is awesome!
If anyone is interested in some extra support, I am offering distance reiki sessions. You can contact me by e-mail (koko@kokoskitchen.com) and I would be happy to connect. Reiki transcends space and time and a distance session is as effective as an in-person session.