The dark night of the soul

Many of us sometimes have the feeling that When we want to leave a space called “our identity” we enter another one full of doubts, of ambiguity, of uncertainty, where we feel lost and thinking clearly is very complicated. It’s like a dark night.

And this is a very common metaphor in different religions, because “the dark night of the soul” is, for some mystics, a period of sadness, fear, anguish, confusion and loneliness necessary to face to get closer to God.

Origin of the expression “dark night of the soul”

Although this phrase is used in spiritual and religious spheres of different kinds, it has become especially present in the Christian religion. In this belief system, the dark night of the soul is a spiritual and identity crisis that is resolved when the subject finds God.

This crisis is seen by mystics and other religious people as a blessing in disguise, as the individual is forced to overcome difficulties regarding their faith. Although it may seem that during that stage he has distanced himself from God and his spirituality, he will return to it with renewed purity, for he will have found his purpose beyond the rewards for his faith.

A fable to understand what the dark night of the soul is

There are different ways to explain the meaning of that dark night of the soul. This is a little fable that captures what this concept implies:

“A sheep discovered a hole in the fence and ran away through him. Happy to have escaped, he wandered for a long time and ended up becoming disoriented.

One day, while she was being chased by a wolf, she started to run and run… but the wolf continued stalking her, until The shepherd arrived, protected her and with great affection led her back to the fold.. And, despite everyone urging him otherwise, the shepherd refused to repair the hole in the fence.”

Throughout our lives we go through difficult periods, we lose loved ones, we suffer more or less profound crises. The dark night are circumstances that create voids, that generate fears, but that must be crossed to move forward., to grow as people, to enrich themselves. Because at the end of the tunnel the light awaits.

But our mind will want us to return to the fold, to stop exploring. and let us return to our starting place, from where we may think we should never have left. It is the feared resignation, the conformism of considering that our personal transformation can be nothing more than a utopia.

The dark night, towards a new stage in life

To evolve and grow as people, at some point in our lives, we all need to experience our own “dark night.” A stage where emotions such as anxiety or despair will take over us, disturbing our mind and our ego.

The search for oneself implicitly implies the firmness of always continuing forward. It involves learning to improve yourself repeatedly, to slowly increase the limits of your own identity.

We exclusively, We are the only ones who can define what we want to make of ourselves.. We are the only ones who can contemplate things from a privileged place, being able to see what others cannot observe at ground level.

Surely at some point we all need to jump, escape, get lost and disoriented, surely other dimensions will disturb our concept of “identity”. And sometimes, Escaping the fold becomes a valid option, but let’s not forget that it does not have to be the only definitive way out..

Decisively facing that dark night is what will make us come out of it strengthened, like a different person, with another vital attitude. Nobody assures that it is something easy, It may seem like a real journey through the desert, but the result will be personal and spiritual development.

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