The sky is dark but I can see the clouds hovering within it. These big fluffy floating blotches coming and going. They are sheltering the moon from shining. They eventually reveal her so that for a moment she shines through, almost fully formed, then the clouds pass and she is gone again. Hidden somewhere amongst the darkness.

It’s amazing how quickly the clouds move. How sometimes there are no clouds at all. It’s amazing how the sky is bright during the day and it is dark at night. It’s interesting that some people prefer coming out of their safe cave at night, ready to dance their worries away and howl out towards the moon. Some night creatures hide away from the world pursuing creative endeavours in solitude while the sun sleeps. Others wake to the rising sun, humming along to a tune and pouring a cup of coffee as they ready themselves for the day ahead, feeling as if anything is possible.

Neither person is better or worse. Day time and night time are not comparable. They are different. And yet, they are the same. The same sky. The same clouds. The same world. The same beings. We just see it all differently depending on if we’re looking at it in the darkness or in the light.

We too have darkness and light within us, though many only like to talk about the light. When we force constant light, we lose appreciation for it. We grow tired of the pretending and the politeness. We crave the hibernation of winter where you can wrap up intimately with your darkness in a blanket. Where the sea is wild, reminding us that we can be too. Because whenever we shut ourselves off from the darkness, we can’t see the moon and the stars and the beauty of the night sky.

Just like the changing of seasons, we all go through our own seasons of life. Some dark and stormy, others bright and sunny. Clouds pass through, night changes to day, raining one moment, windy the next, clear blue skies on occasion. A constant cycle of change: autumn, winter, spring, summer. All so different, and yet they are all the same. All of them working together for something much bigger.

We too change as we move through life. On the outside as well as the inside. Planted like little seeds who eventually shoot up in Spring. We stay close to the herd like a new born calf attached to their mother. We eventually begin to shed our old ways like the bark of a tree. Standing tall and strong on our own. Life surprises us with unpredictable events that shake our core and sting like the sea on a cold winter’s day. We are greeted with fleeting moments of delight that come and go as quick as a squirrel runs when being watched by another. The more we try to hold onto any of these seasons, the more painful it is, like grasping a nettle when all you need is a dock leaf.

Light and dark. There’s beauty in all of it. In all of us. Summer and Winter. Love and Loss. Quiet and Loud. Busy and Still. Anger and Laughter. Passion and Friction.

Can we learn to embrace all of it, all of us? Can we learn to find light in the darkness, even when all seems hopeless, remembering that day time is always guaranteed? The moon is hiding there somewhere, we must continue to look out for her, instead of being smothered by the clouds.

And when we can’t see light anywhere outside of us, can we choose to look within? To shine our own little light outwards, becoming one of the stars that guides the moon back home.