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Create Harmony
This is a podcast about setting an intentional rhythm, savoring life’s blessings and learning how to use our imagination as a way of listening to God. If you want to learn more about how to bring stillness and gratitude into your life you’ll probably find a lot here that you love. To find out more about what's going on in the Create Harmony world, check out www.mycreateharmony.com.
Create Harmony
Embracing Darkness to Uncover Light
As we immerse ourselves in the serene stillness of winter, what if we explored how embracing the darker months can lead to profound rest and unseen growth? Join me on the Create Harmony podcast as we unpack this transformative idea. By journeying through the womb-like nurturing of darkness, learn how it can become a sanctuary for reflection and renewal. Together, we'll find clarity and beauty in the star-lit skies and uncover unexpected moments of light that glisten like treasures hidden amidst the shadows.
This episode unfolds with insights on harnessing the restorative power of darkness to foster deep rest and gratitude. Emphasizing the importance of being present, we discuss carrying the peace of these quiet moments into our daily lives, preparing us for a brighter re-emergence.
To learn more, go to mycreateharmony.com
Welcome back to the Create Harmony podcast. This is a place where we pay attention to good things happening all around us and celebrate everyday joys. You don't want to miss these things in the busyness of life. We get our inspiration from nature and all of its glory, and we relish the changes that it brings. This is a place of creativity and introspection. But don't worry, everyone is welcome and you can join in.
Speaker 2:You can find a place here, and also take a few minutes to lift your spirits and find some fun in your everyday routine. So this is episode 108, and I am your host, sally Burlington. So we are continuing through what we call our winter well-being series. That's where we spend a number of weeks in the winter discussing ways to make these dark, cold months more pleasant. It's what we'd like to focus on how to cherish this time of year rather than just enduring it. So for today's focus, we're going to talk about darkness and light, and what do I mean by that? So let's start with darkness.
Speaker 2:Many times we associate darkness with scary, negative things. We talk about being afraid of the dark With our kids. We say things are spooky in the dark. It's something to fear and avoid, and as I've been sorting out content for winter well-being over the past few years, I've really given this some thought. It is true that I don't enjoy the shorter, darker days of winter as much as I enjoy those long, beautiful summer days, but it is not true that all darkness is negative.
Speaker 2:I've given some thought about why God designed the seasons to operate like this. What is the purpose here? There must be an upside or a purpose for nature coming to rest in this dark time and it reminded me that, even though it appears that nature is being still and quiet during these dark months, there's actually a lot of activity going on beneath the surface. Plants are recharging and restoring themselves. The process of decay is washing away the old and refreshing the soil for the next growing season. Seeds get their start right there in the darkness, as well as babies in the womb. If you think about it, the womb is a dark place, but it's a place of growth and possibility and protection. It's also another thought I had was when it's really dark.
Speaker 2:Darker conditions is when you can see the night sky more clearly. You can see the sparkling stars in the sky. If you live in a city, like I do, where there's a lot of what we call light pollution, it's harder to see the sparkling of that light. But if you go out into a place that doesn't have as many lights in the darkness, you're going to see light more clearly.
Speaker 2:I also think it's important to note that rest occurs in darkness and that rest is essential for thriving, and recognizing that really helped give me the space to remember to rest more fully during wintertime. So one step to thriving in this season is embracing what is just accepting it as it is and letting it guide you and your choices. And now, now that we've considered the concept of darkness, I'm going to speak for a few minutes about light. In this time of year, light is more scarce, literally and figuratively. We have to really celebrate it when we see it. So we have an awesome nonprofit here in town, a nonprofit that helps children. Now, during the holiday season, I challenged myself to see light in as many places as possible, and it's amazing how many places light penetrates if you pay attention.
Speaker 2:I even caught a photo of the sunlight streaming in on one of our crystal cabinet knobs in my kitchen. I put a picture of it on Instagram. You can see the light and gleaming out and just radiating out all around the knobs from that sun coming in and all the colors of the prisms that it forms. So if you haven't seen it yet, you can check that out on Instagram. And another picture that I captured was some lighted balls. We have a place in our city where there are lighted balls in the trees at a local shopping center and I was driving out at night one evening and it was rainy and I just snapped a pic. I looked over and I could see those lighted balls and I snapped a picture out my car window and that dark, wet night really was highlighted by those lights.
Speaker 2:So what a great metaphor all of this is for life. This is what we do here at Create Harmony. We're about finding the good things in life, no matter what the season, no matter what the circumstances. We are about looking at the upsides of darkness and keeping our eyes open for more light in the world around us. That's exactly what that means. So hopefully that's helped you to think about your circumstances just a little bit different and really open your eyes, open your perspective for where you see little glimmers of light during this season, until the days get a little bit longer and we start to see light in more places. So for our closing today, I thought that it would be good for us to have what I call a mindful moment. I have a mindful moment about darkness. It's just a little bit of a meditative darkness minute. So we're going to shift over into our mindful posture now.
Speaker 2:What you do is start out by getting into your most comfortable position. You think about your body. Is it comfortable? Are there any adjustments that I need to make so that I can settle? Just go ahead and make those adjustments now. Wiggle your fingers and your toes, shake out your hands a little bit, help your body to settle by shaking it out and take a deep breath, breathe in possibilities and breathe out gratitude. If it makes sense for you to close your eyes, you can do that now. You can do that now.
Speaker 2:Begin to think about the setting sun. The light is slowly leaving the earth. The Lord is my shepherd. I will not be in need. Darkness is falling like a blanket over everything. Every few minutes there's a little less sun, a little more dark. As the sun goes down and the darkness spreads, the earth gets still. He lets me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness. For His name's sake, all is quiet, taking a pause. Darkness is a time of restoration. The day has washed away the worries and cares are gone.
Speaker 2:God is near, working in the darkness, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me. This darkness is just like what happens below the soil in winter there is transformation. Below, in the dark, the earth rests and restores, like the darkness of the womb, safe and warm, a place where things are growing and changing. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine, enemies, and you have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows Like our time of sleep.
Speaker 2:Deep rest happens in the dark. Our bodies heal and restore. The slate is wiped clean, everything new and fresh. Certainly, goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life and my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever. Now it's time to emerge from our darkness, but you can bring the restful peace with you. You can begin to bring your awareness back into your body, back to the place you started, back to us together on the podcast. Take a final deep breath, breathe in possibilities. Deep breath, breathe in possibilities and breathe out gratitude. If you closed your eyes, you can open them now and we'll join one another. Thanks so much for joining us for this next installment of our winter well-being and hopefully that was restful and restorative to you. As we considered the concepts of darkness and light, we'll be back next week with another concept to talk about on how to get through these darker, colder winter days. Hope you'll join them too, and until next time, peace, thank you.
