Don’t be afraid of the dark
During my drive back to the city, I was reminded of the beauty of the darkness. We left before sunrise. Last night I witnessed the blood moon eclipse on my lawn and marveled at the night sky. The night sky in the desert is amazing, the stars are brilliant shinning orbs of light.
My home is located in a small town on the edge of the Escalante Grand Staircase national monument. People from all parts of the world come here to experience the natural beauty that surrounds my home. Some of my earliest memories of Escalante are of the wonderment of the night skies in this remote area.
Have you ever just gazed at the night sky and been so inspired of the immensity and grandeur of the universe? I am never disappointed when I watch the stars, it truly inspire me to the depths of my soul.
As a fifth generation occupant of a pioneer home, I have been greatly blessed to be the present caretaker. I often feel my ancestors who come to check in and see how I have kept up the place, what I might have added or how the new trees are doing. I have many conversations with these ancestors and feel their smiling approval.
During my star gazing last night I was saddened by the light pollution from all the street lights that have been added in recent years. My attempt at reducing them through the local city council have been thwarted.
I did an informal poll to find out why and discovered that people are afraid of the dark. Some are locals who have been here most of their lives, some were city dwellers who are used to the city lights and others are senior citizens whose eye sight has dimmed.
I asked myself the question, why are people so afraid of the dark? What has happened in their lives to cause them discomfort at such a beautiful sight?
There was a time when I was afraid of the darkness. It was not a darkness of the night sky but a darkness of my soul. It was a time when I had been afraid to face my own fears. Fears that had been reinforced by negative programing and false teachings.
I visited a friend prior to the eclipse, I felt her frustration with life and the degree of her fear. I attempted to lift her spirits but failed at my attempts. She has focused so much on the darkness that she has forgotten the goodness and the light that exists in the world. I left her in her frustrations and darkness, I was not able to sway her mood.
It is not an easy thing to face your fears, to do an introspection of your life experiences, to find the root cause of your worries, your sleepless nights, your nightmares.
Many choose to mask these feelings with doctors who give temporary relief with prescriptions drugs, some choose alcohol, or some other bandaid.
I suffered with headaches earlier in my life because of life choices. Foods laden with additives and flavor enhancers combined with preservatives were the root cause of my pain and darkness. It took me years of research to find the root cause, but because of my efforts I am able to make better choices and avoid the pain.
Many of the fears that I experienced in life were self inflicted. I watched movies that induced fear. The nightly news should be renamed the Frightly news. Media experts have expertly conditioned us to be in a state of constant fear.
Government experimental methods have determined the best way to control people is to keep them in fear. It doesn’t matter which fear is chosen. As long as they can promote fear, people are controllable.
The amygdala is a small gland located an inch below the temple on your head. It triggers a fight or flight response when there is danger. It is extremely helpful when the lions, tigers and bears are chasing you. When this trigger is intentionally triggered it causes an undue amount of stress and worry.
There is a simple way to turn this gland off. Picture a light switch. Turn the switch off. Sounds too simple? It really works for externally induced fear.
Turning off the internally induced fear is not so simple. It is a process that takes patience, forgiveness, and searching the root cause of the fear. The effort is well worth the results.
I love watching the night sky, the wonderment of the universe and the shooting stars always thrill me. I would love to share that experience with my neighbors who are afraid of the dark but that is a journey that only they can walk and one that they must face alone.
It takes courage and determination to face your fears, but it is a journey well spent. At the end of your journey there is an illumination of the soul that fears no darkness.
