Peace in the Darkness – Episode 272

Do you feel that you are lost in the dark? Do your fears become larger and more real in darkness? Can darkness ever provide comfort and peace? My musings on darkness were inspired by but don't really follow this outline: * End of the year * Shortest day / longest night * Darkness -> fear/anxiety * We light candles, fires, or decorate trees and houses with lots of lights to drive away the darkness. * We also find comfort and peace in the quiet dark. * We sleep in the dark. * Darkness of the tomb. * Darkness of the womb. * When do we fear the dark? * We can’t see what is around us, threatening us. * We can’t see the way out/forward. * Shadows and shapes become monsters. * When is darkness welcomed? * When we want to sleep. * To hide away the annoyances of our life. * So we can see the stars. * We close our eyes to meditate or pray so we are not distracted. * I can open myself up to others because I don’t have to see their reaction and they can’t see mine. * When I was living with alcoholism but without recovery, life seemed very dark. I could not see a “way out”. And in the actual darkness, in the quiet of the night when I couldn’t sleep, my problems, my anxieties, my fears, my hopelessness were magnified. They were monsters coming out from under the bed, from the closet, to attack me. In that time of my life, darkness was not a friend, darkness was to be feared. Readings One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, March 3. How Al-Anon Works, Chapter 38. Our topic for next week is twofold: How did recovery work in your life this year? And what aspirations and intentions do you have for the coming year? Please call us at 734-707-8795 or email [email protected] with your questions or experience, strength and hope. Or just leave a comment right here. Music from the show War: Slippin Into Darkness Simon and Garfunkel: Sound of Silence The Five Satins: In the Still of the Night Lauren Daigle: You Say