Anyone who has developed film on their own knows the importance of darkness to the process. Those magic chemical baths just wouldn’t produce those vivid photos in bright light. So, too, your life develops in the dark and splashes through as an array of light.

The seed seeks the darkness of underground to produce its colorful fruit. Humans who flourish seek the hidden retreat of darkness to produce brilliance in their life.

Note to Star Wars Fans: This is not the “Dark Side” of which I speak.

This is the dark stillness within that produces all that we deem worthwhile in the light of day.

Darkness will be a disappointment to those who want to know everything. You can’t. So much of what causes things to occur happens in the dark where the light of conscious thinking cannot penetrate. There will always be mysteries that we cannot solve, yet they will always produce.

“The Mystery of The Dark” would make an excellent book title because it would get us curious about going inward. Most of our efforts are on the outside and done with sheer willpower. Will power doesn’t produce a lot of life because it is energy depleting by nature.

Willpower is a great way to jumpstart an effort, but if you have to jumpstart yourself every day, you’ll always need an outside source to power your existence. Recharging your own battery so that it automatically produces the necessary spark begins in the dark.

I’m not an expert on the Chinese ancient symbols of Yin and Yang but I know they work best when in balance with each other. Too much male Yang energy causes us to force results. We over-apply our will and that causes frustration in our lives leading to physical, mental and spiritual breakdowns.

Female Yin energy, which is known as the dark side of the mountain, is where all fertility takes place. Without the populating activity of the male energy, Yin would produce very little. It would remain a barren place of inactivity.

Think of your intellect as your Yang energy and your Yin energy as your internal source. Use your intellect as the sower of seeds. Allow your internal Yin source to gestate and produce the illuminating ideas that your Yang energy gets to act on.

We, as a planet, are mostly out of balance. We give too much credence to one side or the other which leads to lopsided results.

Impatience is too much Yang. Hesitation is too much Yin. When you balance them out, you patiently act, which adds softened light to your life.

When you appreciate the growth potential of the dark, you stop trying to make everything happen in the light and allow more time for life to develop.

Any successful coach knows that for their athletes to become proficient, they must practice (Yang). They also know for the athlete to be consistently successful, they must teach them the concept of letting the game come to them (Yin).

There is a certain amount of well placed trust that’s necessary to letting life develop in the dark. When you trust that your inner source has your back, the actions you take in the light of day will produce some exceptional pictures.

Snapshot: Life comes to you when you give it time to develop.

All the best,

John