Let there be darkness

"Coz it's alright, just follow the light- Don't be afraid of the dark"-Travis

I've always loved the dark. Strange as it sounds, happiness finds me there. Sometimes, when I come back from a long day in college, I simply love switching the lights off in my room and just relaxing.
Something about darkness intrigues me and as I try to understand that today, I will share my thoughts and discoveries with you.


Some questions come to my mind.

What is darkness, really?
Why is it that when I type 'darkness' in any search engine, I get redirected to 'fear related quotes'?
Finally, why do most people fear the dark?


As I try to address these questions in my mind, I can't help but dwell on the last one which is- why do people fear the dark? Perhaps this fear is deep rooted in some, and superficial or not-so-deep-rooted in others. Humans have a tendency to fear the unknown and sadly, darkness does bring with it a sense of uncertainty.  You never know what darkness will bring with it. Whether it is stubbing your toe twelve times over which is rather painful, or finding something unpleasant...or simply having a strange sense of  vulnerability-the dark can scare you.

Why does darkness bring out the feeling of being vulnerable in us? What is it that compels us to feel afraid of it, haunted even, by it? Perhaps the reason is that it is in the darkness, that we really feel alone.
No one wants to be alone. Sure, we have those days when we want to be left alone and don't feel like talking or interacting with others. But really, to be alone isn't the best thing always.  Loneliness finds its friend in darkness. Together, they like to haunt us, sneer at us and put us in a very cold place.

 There is one thing though, that really intrigues me. Consider a scenario where you are home alone and it's night time. The lights go off. You struggle to find your way in the dark, feeling the furniture-anything that comes in your way and you take small, careful steps. So, so afraid you might fall and get hurt. I like to dig a little deeper into this entire process. Try to look at it from a different angle. Just as we struggle to find our way in the darkness, we struggle to find our way in the darkest periods of our lives. We stumble a couple of times, maybe even fall once or twice. But we rise. We get up and we pursue our quest to find ourselves, to find the solutions to our problems and to find the answers to our questions.

So before I sign off today, I'd like to reiterate that darkness is not to be confused with something that is negative and something that we should fear. Sometimes our darkest days can be the best thing that could have ever happened to us as they develop us, redefining who we are as a person. Ultimately, darkness will transition into light. Perhaps it is only then that we realize how important darkness really is, for it is darkness that teaches us to appreciate the light.


Xoxo
Nikita