The Dark Night of the Soul (The New Moon)

Sometimes, everything you thought was true feels like it is falling apart. This can be very scary, like being lost in the woods at night. But the dark night is actually a special time when your soul is resting and getting ready to grow. Just like a seed has to be in the dark dirt before it turns into a flower, we sometimes need to be unsure so we can find a deeper kind of sure. It is the struggle that makes your faith strong. When the sun finally comes up, you will see the world in a whole new beautiful way.

The struggle that makes your faith strong. The seed does not grow toward the light immediately. First the seed cracks. Then the seed reaches down into the dark. The roots come before the bloom. Always. The dark night of the soul is not God leaving. The dark night is the roots going deeper. You cannot see roots. Roots work in the dark. But without them the flower falls over in the first wind. If your faith has never been tested, your faith has no roots. The dark night is not the end of faith. The dark night is faith getting a foundation.

The dark night of the soul (St. John of the Cross): purgation of senses and spirit. A state of maximum entropy where the old identity has dissolved but the new one has not formed. Low fidelity to any specific dogma. This high-entropy state is necessary for global reliability — without the ability to enter doubt, a system becomes brittle. The dark night is not God leaving. The dark night is the roots going deeper.

SOUND: The low deep hum of a cello: sadness that is also somehow beautiful.

SMELL: Damp pine needles in a forest: the scent of a dark place where things grow.

TASTE: Bitter chocolate that turns sweet as it melts: patience rewarded on the tongue.

TOUCH: The cold side of a pillow at night: comfort in darkness.

SIGHT: The tiny glimmer of a single firefly: proof that light does not need to be big to be real.

BODY: The heavy feeling of your body when you are very tired: the weight that comes before rest.

Music: Your Grace Is Enough by Matt Maher

Part of Faith & Doubt — RELIGION — Education Revelation