A dark night of the soul usually precedes an awakening of some sort. They say the darkest hour is before dawn and this can be true for those who experience a dark night of the soul as well.
From my own personal experience it can feel as though life is inherently worthless, the world is a hostile and uncaring place and you feel as though your own life has no meaning or purpose. But sometimes you need to experience the opposite in order to understand and appreciate being.
I really like the story of a person who is lost and is asking why God has abandoned him. Even if you are not a practicing Christian it is still a good metaphor to explain the phenomena of a dark night of the soul.
A man was walking, praying for the Lord to walk with him. At first, where he had been walking, there were two pairs of footsteps in the sand. And then, walking the way of faith and going on, the man became so tired and so weary. Continuing on, there was only one pair of footsteps in the sand where he had traveled.
This man prayed to God again: "Lord, why are you doing this to me? When I am having hard times, you are supposed to be with me; why are you letting me walk alone?" Then the Lord said to him, "those were the times I carried you." |