Darkness Visible
Part I
Rev. David Takahashi Morris
December 17, 2006
Acknowledging
the Gathering Dark
This year has seen its share
of struggle, strife, and sadness. The
wisdom of the solstice is the wisdom of the Tao: Light and dark must balance one another. If we will not accept the presence of
darkness, the light can never fully return.
And so in this circle of compassionate community, let us turn to face
the darkness that has troubled our days in the passing year.
We have known
disappointments. The promise
unfulfilled; the longed-for event that didn’t quite measure up to our
expectations; the anticipated day that never came. Disappointment dims our light.
We have felt loneliness. The phone call that didn’t come; the days
when we felt friendless; the hours when we thought no one could possibly share
what we were feeling. Loneliness dims
our light.
We have experienced betrayal.
The friend who failed us when we needed them; the deserved recognition
that did not come our way; the partner who broke a sacred vow. Betrayal dims our light.
We have been burdened with
shame. The mistake we were horrified to
realize we had made; the parents or partners for whom our efforts weren’t quite
good enough; the shortcomings we felt among others who somehow seemed richer,
brighter, more self-assured than we. Shame
dims our light.
We have suffered loss. The failure of a long-held
dream; the destruction of a beloved place; the passing in death of a precious
companion on life’s journey. Loss
dims our light.
We have been touched by
sorrow. We have witnessed the pain of
the world in too many ways; we have seen that our own life is not headed where
we had hoped it might be; we have found that we are not who we once imagined we
would become. Sorrow dims our light.
We are not only afflicted by the dark. We contribute to it as well. The passing months of this year have seen
their share of blindness, blunder, and transgression, not only in others but in
ourselves as well.
In this sanctuary of aspiration and of honesty, let us acknowledge those
shadows which we may have had a part in casting this year.
We have lived with
greed. The desire for possessions, the
desire for control of others, the futile desire to make ourselves feel secure
by surrounding ourselves with what is ours. Greed dims our light.
We have been touched by
arrogance. The assumption of the right
to make decisions for others; the expectation that our claims will have
priority over others, the conviction that we alone have arrived at the
conclusions everyone else would share if only they had our vision and good
sense. Arrogance dims our light.
We have felt the heat of
anger. The fury of
frustrated expectations, the annoyance of encountering inexplicable resistance,
the maddening blindness of those who cannot see the truth so apparent to us. Anger dims our light.
We have been assailed by
fear. The inability to trust another;
the precarious sense of a situation beyond our control, the unwillingness to
risk what we think we need for the sake of what we might become. Fear dims our light.
We have been goaded by
hate. Dismissing the ideas and judgments
of those who oppose our values; wishing for the destruction of those who seem
to threaten what we hold dear; failing to fully embrace the humanity of those
who deny our own worth, dignity, or virtue.
Hate dims our light.
We have been tempted by
despair. The values we hold sacred have
seemed weak and disregarded in the world; the forces of indifference and
division have seemed to go unchallenged or even admired; the joy for which we
have hoped has seemed far beyond our grasp.
Despair dims our light.