Between The Dark And The Light

 

 

This weekend I had the enormous pleasure of spending some time in the wonderfully inspiring  somerset town of Frome.  I was there for the second of this year’s Be The Change Initiative’s seasonal gatherings.  Known as “4saturdays”  here.
  

 

Throughout the course of the weekend the phrase; ‘between the dark and the light’, kept appearing.  This set me pondering it’s significance for myself.   As someone with a visual impairment, the phrase has particular resonance of course.  In my own case, too much light can be a problem, as it renders hazy and indistinct much that it would be useful to see. As the light diminishes however, more becomes visible.  Whilst perhaps counter-intuitive, this nevertheless reminds me of the value of both states.  It is often the darkness that holds that which we would most benefit from giving our attention.  Those stories we may have forgotten, hidden or still awaiting discovery, often have the most to teach us.  In my own case, the more I deny my impairment and fiercely strive for independence, the less I enjoy the  gifts available within the wealth of potential support and community that surrounds me.  Such as mutual exchange, shared learning and strengthened social connection.

 

 

“A shadow is never created in darkness. It is born of light. We can be blind to it and blinded by it. Our shadow asks us to look at what we don’t want to see” 

Terry Tempest Williams