This Is It: The Art of Happily Going Nowhere by Fullard-Smith Maurice

Author:Fullard-Smith, Maurice [Fullard-Smith, Maurice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Darton, Longman & Todd LTD
Published: 2007-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

Part Two

When darkness comes

The onset of unexpected depression, described variously by sufferers as a black hole, a black dog, or utter pointlessness, can bring a sense of devastation altering the pattern of our lives beyond recognition. Friends may wonder what on earth is happening to us and may be completely unable to empathise, for it seems to them quite impossible to get oneself into such distress.

The problem is all the more confusing if we have been flying pretty high, with no sign of an oncoming storm. In fact, for many, being too ‘high’ often does precede a descent into a cloud of heaviness that threatens to ruin every thread of progress we have experienced. We don’t need a degree in psychology, genetics or environmental science, but it will be useful to have a simple understanding of the best approach we can have to such a distressing condition.

At a time like this, we also find that anxiety can easily come upon us, as hormones flood our body to enable us to fight the darkness, or else to flee from it into some absorbing activity. For many this anxiety seriously compounds the situation. Some of us who have trodden this dark road discovered that there is no way to overcome the devouring monster by will-power. We are forced to give up all attempts to escape as we observe our apparent progress slipping away from us time and time again, leaving us exhausted – just like John Bunyan’s Pilgrim in his dungeon of despair.

Accepting the darkness and letting ourselves be overwhelmed by it may sound a dangerous approach to our nearest and dearest, but we find no alternative. If there is a secret of success, probably it is to stay willingly in this dungeon of darkness, just simply realising we have no other option. Although we may hate it, this place is also a part of our journey. Allowing ourselves to fully experience the presence of these terrible moments is a major step forward, although we may not recognise it as such at the time.

Going consciously into our dark times, feeling them fully and so turning the weight of their presence into a floating experience, can eventually be the catalyst that causes a little light to begin to seep into our dark night. This transmutation cannot be hurried, nor can it be accomplished by repeating a purely cerebral formula or concept. The beginning of change is often the result of our genuine surrender to a black situation that is present in this very moment of time. Our long-term plans are put on hold as we constantly relax back into the power of the present moment.

As we accept and relax in our discomfort, it is a great help to remember not to identify with the depression and anxiety. It is not who we intrinsically are, but grounded in the lake of sorrow or body of pain that our ego has built up during our personal history and even in our genetic background. We can observe this condition as we have learned to do with unwanted thoughts.

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