rock-bottom or square one?
'scraping the bottom of the barrel' doesn't have any particularly positive connotations. but rock-bottom will always hold a special place in my heart. it's the womb from whence i was born.
in the darkness
as human children we grow up scared of the dark, as human adults we're constantly soaked in light till we lie down to sleep. screens, devices, table lamps, bed lamps. we cannot live without the light.
we've also drawn connotations between positivity and light, negativity and the dark. yet when we seek solace and comfort, we have to look towards the dark. we find rest in the shade. we find comfort in the night. seeds find nourishment in the darkness of the earth. babies grow in the darkness of the womb.
whether it's Batman or Bane, both found empowerment in the darkness. we associate the darkness with evil, but isn't darkness all embracing? isn't there evil in the light of day as well?
negative space
as in design, so in life. it is the negative that provides context and offers the positive a space to shine from. there's plenty in the world we cannot see, and in the darkness, the things that we cannot see can be felt.
when we meditate, we close our eyes to the world of light from outside and dwell in the darkness within. so we may discover the light within that may then shine outward. there is no light without darkness. there is no positive without negative. there is no yang without yin. there is a harmony beyond what we perceive as chaos.
colour me chaotic
what's scary about the dark is that none of the colors are visible, yet black contains all colors within. so the darkness is not the absence of light, but the presence of everything that is. why would you deprive yourself of this wholesome experience?
when we come face to face with the darkness, with our own darkness, we faced with the chaos of everything that is; every color there is, every emotion there is, every thought there is. what we imagine is the emptiness of darkness is actually fullness, an overwhelming totality beyond our narrow vision.
back to square one
befriend the darkness. return to innocence. cuddle into the space you came from. get comfortable being loved by the embrace of the universe. close your eyes to the world and return the embrace. for the darkness includes you, you are a part of it, not apart from it.
rock-bottom will forever remain my home. and whenever i'm home sick, all i need to do is close my eyes and listen, to the silent sound of infinite souls singing for me in celebration of this life i live 🙏🏽