WAITING IN DARKNESS

Some of life’s most powerful changes take place in the darkness. This particular season of life has offered many opportunities to observe nature. The correlations between the natural world and our current life experiences are quite remarkable.

Yesterday I harvested several pounds of carrots from our garden. I planted those tiny seeds in December and January. For months, just beneath the surface, in the dark, depths of fertile soil, nature was at work. I simply watered, pulled a few weeds now and then and waited. Although I had glimpses of their growth (green, leafy tops), I had no idea what was happening down below or what the final product might be. Let’s just say, I’ll be trying lots of new carrot recipes in the coming months!

We are fortunate to live on a canyon. There are many native trees, succulents and flowering bushes. I can’t help but think how much nature is enjoying the stillness and quiet that Covid-19 has caused. The birds and butterflies are especially active. I’ve seen species I’ve never noticed in the 10 years we’ve lived here. It’s incredible. I remember as a young girl being fascinated with butterflies. How could a caterpillar (a creepy, crawly insect) become a butterfly (a flying beauty)? What a mystery!

 

Science tells us that caterpillars spend most of their time eating. Eventually hormonal changes occur and they lose interest in feeding. They seek out a sheltered, safe spot and begin spinning a little silk pad which becomes it’s chrysalis. The change inside the chrysalis is slow and gradual. The metamorphosis is incredible as the insect is changed completely from the inside out. Complete transformation takes about 2 weeks. But some species survive the winter in their chrysalis for several months.

It feels like we are living in one of those in-between times of life. The reality of painful loss(es) clings tightly to the possibility of moving on. I find myself waiting for something to happen and hoping things will change for the better. I want so badly to believe that this quiet obscurity will transform me, transform us, transform the world. What if we viewed this time as our chrysalis? What if waiting in the darkness is the transformative stage that is a necessary predecessor to the unfolding of a hope-filled future? How willing are you to wait in the darkness? What sort of transformation have you been experiencing over these last few months? How can you tend to your body, mind, heart and soul during these difficult times?

Our day of emergence will come. But how will we emerge? Will we be unchanged, simply falling back into life as we knew it? Or will our emergence come with a revival of joy and compassion for the Earth and all its inhabitants? May we emerge with a newfound respect, love and appreciation for the divinity of all creation.