Darkness has always been associated with the worst things, such as vengeful spirits and serial killers. Even in movies, the night is always depicted as a time when the nefarious supernatural forces are at work. As a result, it is not surprising that many people are afraid of the dark and find it oppressive rather than exciting.
There is no darkness, only the disappearance of light; if you understand how our eyes work and the reflections of light on objects and then on us, you will understand that darkness does not exist. The absence of light is referred to as darkness, and the absence of heat is referred to as cold. As a result, you cannot “see” darkness; you can only perceive it because there is no light.
To me, the dark is a mysterious blanket of ink that both conceals and excites the situation. It’s the time of year when my imagination runs wild. I imagine the romantic lovers Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights wandering the moors forever united, a picture that validates my romantic notions of love. It’s a time when I see Peter Pan and Tinkerbell flitting around the dark corners, ready to whisk me away into their world of adventure and magic.
However, the dark becomes an ominous entity after watching a horror movie on a stormy night or when alone on deserted streets. Then I’d see it as a menacing presence, with demons and evil men lurking around corners waiting to pounce on me. Images from movies in which young girls are stalked by crazed murderers or unwitting targets of ghostly apparitions crowd my mind, instilling fear and tension in me. Even an unlit corridor conjures up images of girls and boys running endlessly down it in an attempt to escape a maniacal killer.
When I’m just too tired after a long day at school, the dark is a welcome sign that it’s time for me to rest. It becomes reassuringly familiar to me at times like this, and it lulls me to sleep. In fact, I’ve looked forward to the darkness as a justification for my desire to sleep on numerous occasions!
It’s true that many creative types are more inspired during their dark times, but I’ve discovered that profound darkness hinders creativity and that my creative juices flow best when there’s a balance between the darkness and the light. For the most part, we expend a great deal of energy focusing on our shadow sides and frequently put the light on the back burner of our lives—one of the many reasons why people gravitate to and discuss negative news. We are burdening others by focusing on the darkness. By embracing opposites in our lives, we are milking the shadow, which is the saving grace. The important thing is to strike a healthy balance.
I remember being so terrified of the dark as a child after watching a particularly gruesome horror film that I refused to sleep with the lights turned off. My poor parents had to gradually accustom me to accepting darkness as a natural state. With time, I grew braver, and as a result, I was able to overcome my childhood fear of the dark. Now, I’m glad that the dark has come to represent so many different things to me, making my life a more exciting and imaginative playground.
