How to Find The Light When You’re in The Dark
Many people are suffering in our world today. They’re depressed, suicidal, overcome with fear, unable to function in daily life, succumbing to abuse, or too panicked to live a normal life. In short, they’re drowning in darkness, unable to see the light anymore. These people often feel they are at their wit’s end, at the end of their ropes, unable to go on, ready to give up. Their connection to the light is essentially gone. If you are in that place of darkness where you’ve lost all hope, this information can help you find the light again.
Let people help you
Sometimes you really can’t help yourself. That’s when it’s time to rely on the kindness of your fellow man. We're here for each other ... and we are oneness. Find a friend, relative, therapist, counselor, co-worker, or anyone you trust with your situation and ask them for help. Chances are they won’t say no, and even if they do, you can just move on to someone else.
People who love you and care about you will help you if you tell them what’s wrong and ask for their help. Even if they can’t offer much in the way of advice, sometimes just telling someone about your situation is enough to lift you back towards the light. You may also be able to find a support group filled with similar people who have already conquered your problem ... and are there to support others seeking their way back from the darkness. Whatever you do, reach out. Don’t sit in the darkness alone.
Help someone else in need
When you realize that you are in a position to help someone else in trouble, often times your own problem doesn’t seem so difficult. Helping others is one of the kindest things you can do on in this world simply because it recognizes the connection we all share. When you show compassion towards another you automatically move closer to the light. Try it and see.
Give a homeless guy some money or a gift card. Volunteer at a shelter. Donate clothing to a domestic violence shelter. Send gifts to an orphanage ... or just listen to someone with a problem and offer a kind word of support ... or just be a shoulder to cry on. When you see others drowning in the dark, you can help each other swim back to the light. Gratitude is one of the highest vibrations you can give and receive.
Keep your perspective
Sometimes we’re slammed with something horrible. The death of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job, a financial crisis, bad health news. It can feel like someone tied a ball and chain to your feet and threw you in the river. But try and keep your perspective.
Are you really at the end of your rope or did you just slide down a few feet – okay maybe sometimes it's a few hundred feet ... but never let go of that rope, even if you slid all the way to the bottom. I've been so low before that I have had to reach up to touch bottom. Keep climbing. While there is still life in you, there is strength to keep climbing. One inch at a time if necessary.
Still have a roof over your head? Still have friends and family who care about you? Still have enough money in your wallet to buy your next meal? Is there a cure for the illness you've been diagnosed with? You’re way ahead of some people, so keep your perspective and keep climbing. There are thousands, perhaps millions of people, in the world who would gladly take your problems over theirs, so keep your problem in the proper perspective if you can. Remember, only 7% of the people in the world own a car.
Find one positive thought
I can’t stress this one enough. When all you can see is darkness, sometimes you have to create your own light. Have you lost your job? Well at least you can sleep in tomorrow. God forbid but have you been told you have cancer? At least others who have had this can guide you back to health. Have you experienced the death of a loved one? You were very fortunate to have loved someone so deeply.
I know that you can sometimes feel totally buried by bad news, or a bad situation. I think we’ve all had that feeling of totally losing our life energy to devastating news or a devastating experience, but you can always - always - choose how you will interpret and perceive it.
So you can choose to allow those dark waters to drag you under or you can choose to keep your head above water and start swimming back to shore. It’s a choice - your choice - even if it doesn’t always feel like one. Say to yourself “At least I am still breathing, so I’m okay.” There's an old Korean War Vet who I see occasionally when I am in Ormond Beach, Florida who hangs out at the grocery store. Every time you ask him how he's doing ... he says "I'm north of the grass sonny." That's the right attitude. He's thankful to still be above ground.
Count your blessings
When you’re sitting in the dark and can’t find the light, it’s always helpful to count your blessings instead of your hardships. My advice is to literally write them down and keep them somewhere you reference them often. Turn your attention to the things in your life that are still positive and forget your problem(s), even if just for a moment.
You have to break the negative cycle, cut the chain that ties you to that ball and chain, so you can start to swim back up to the surface. You need to get your power back, so take a serious inventory of what you still have going for you and use those blessings like stairs – climb them. And if you can ... run up the steps.
Remember you are never truly alone
You are never truly alone. Behind and beside you walk beings of light that you can call on at any time. Beings whose job it is to help you when you cannot help yourself. You may not see them or detect them, but they are there when you need them the most. Even your Higher-Self, Guardian Angel, Spirit Guide, Intuition, or whatever you so choose to call it ... truly exists and is at your beckoned call.
Just like that poem, “Footprints” about the person who was walking with God/Source and saw two sets of footprints in the sand. When he was in trouble he only saw one set and thought God/Life/Source had abandoned him. “No,” said God, “that was when I carried you.”
If you open yourself to their higher energy, you will feel their loving comfort. Some people use prayer to connect with these unseen energies, some use meditation. Others centered prayer. Listen for that still small voice within. Your higher consciousness always has the answers. Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Find your inner guidance system and let their light infuse you.
Find the humor in your situation
Probably the last thing you want to do when you are devastated is laugh, but laughter truly is the best medicine. Being in a state of joy or amusement is a really high vibration that can cut through the darkness like a knife through butter. You release endorphins, and many other internal chemicals that are used to battle the darkness.
Find something to laugh at. Find something amusing in your situation. If you can’t find amusement in your situation, then find amusement in something else. Catch a comedy show, watch a funny movie, go online and type in the name of your favorite comedian. It’s okay to laugh even when you feel like you have nothing to be happy about. Laughter cuts away the darkness and allows you to think more clearly and find good solutions to your problem. Even just a smile, can make all the difference.
Don’t make decisions in the dark
When life throws you a curve you automatically go into problem-solving mode. How will I deal with this? What will I do now? How will I survive? How will I get through this? But use logic and higher energy consciousness. Stay out of panic mode. Don't worry or be overly concerned. When you’re in panic-mode, you don’t always come up with the best solutions. In fact, sometimes you can’t see a way out of your situation. You end up in fight-or-flight mode ... high stress and that has no value to you. Unless of course, you're being chased by a bear.
I have learned that if I am in crisis mode and I react rather than respond ... my ability to make wise decisions goes out the window. So I’ve learned not to make decisions while in crisis mode. I raise my vibration first. I count my blessings. I put my problem in perspective. And then I try and find humor in the situation.
Also, I'm not afraid to ask for help. Then solutions begin to appear when my mind is ready for them. If you need time to wallow in your misery ... if you really need a pity-party for a short bit ... then get it out of the way but don’t stay too long or you will drown in that darkness. When you’re ready, start making a plan that will free you from those dark waters.
Just breathe
When all else fails, breathe. What’s the first thing we do when we arrive in this world? We take a breath. When you literally feel like your world is falling apart then it’s time to go back to the beginning. Just breathe. And you don't have to wait for the doctor to smack you into it.
Find a comfortable spot and concentrate on your breath. Don’t let other thoughts enter your mind. If they do, gently escort them out the back door or just watch them float by. Don't label them or become involved in them. Just keep concentrating on your breathing. In and out. Be sure to align yourself in the present moment ... get centered. Keep breathing until you find peace. Breath IN the good stuff, breath OUT the not so good stuff. Visualize it.
Use that time to connect yourself with universal energy ... the Source Energy or if choose the term breath of God (Ruach/Pneuma) ... the LIFE FORCE that fills us all. Be supported by that energy. Let it carry you for a while. Submit yourself to its embrace.
Then, when you’re ready, open your eyes and see the light ahead of you. Move towards it, one step at a time. Don’t take your eyes off that light. Don’t look behind you, always look forward. As long as you’re breathing, you’re okay. Visualize a bright ball of light ... brighter than the Sun. White and pure.
If someone you know is in crisis right now, help them. Care for them. Guide them back to the light. If it's you, then find compassionate loving people ... caring individuals who will help you sort through your situation and offer truthful and helpful advice for dealing with it ... and helping you step out of the darkness of night, and into the light of day.
Just a thought ...
~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.
My thanks to Erin Pavlina
