Turning Darkness into Light: Learning to Recycle Pain

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"...In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity”  -Albert Einstein

What a beautiful quote by Albert Einstein. I believe this whole heartedly and can take it a step further. If you look individually at the people who have done great things for humanity and the world itself, you will first see one who has learned how to harness pain and darkness and can then craft it into something powerfully beautiful.
 
To recycle darkness, one must first understand the frequency of it. To know and live extreme pain is an intensive way to recognize the powerful grip it can have; influential enough to help propel forward but equally powerful in the ability to suffocate and drown one’s soul.

Turning Tragedy into Something Beautiful

Let’s think about Oprah Winfrey. Did you know that she was sexually assaulted as a child by three different offenders and at age 14 birthed a child who died soon after? Oprah has empowered so many individuals and has outwardly explored topics that have helped many find peace, education and a new way of living. Would she be as influential without her childhood pain and the lifestyle she overcame? Who can say?
 
Kris Carr is a New York Times and #1 Amazon best-selling author with a strong wellness activist voice. After receiving the news of stage 4 cancer in 2003, Kris decided to radically change her diet, nutrition and lifestyle and over a decade later is empowering others to take charge of their lives and destiny.
 
Kris is known as one of the most prominent experts on healthy living as she has over 40,000 followers on her wellness website, not to mention the books and documentaries that have helped many find their way out of their own darkness.
 
Watch this video by the Imagine Dragons. If everyone learned to recycle their darkness, the world would be a place full of humanitarians and earth guardians, whose sole desire was to create something better. To leave others and the world better because of their existence and choices, but unfortunately this is not often the case. Read the lyrics of this song and let the message of this article begin to sink in deeper and deeper.
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“I Love the Person I’ve Become, Because I fought to Become Her.”  -Kaci Diane

​I vividly remember the day I choose strength over destiny. My family has generation after generation of darkness. People who snuff out the light in others, take advantage of children and perpetuate violence. I will never forget the day I decided to sever my own destiny in the generational cycles of darkness.
 
I was about 15 years old, receiving a tremendous amount of criticism and shame. After years and years of suffering through darkness, I decided to not become the blackness I was in. In that moment as a young teen, I created mantras in my mind that I told myself over and over again. It was in that moment that I decided to MINDFULLY choose my paths. That when I fell, to stand up, look around and keep walking. To use darkness as a fertilizer for growth. Focusing on the necessity of the stench to produce a gorgeous crop is vital for recycling darkness into light. Focusing on the darkness itself makes the smell of the manure too overwhelming. 

You Too Can Turn Your Darkness Into Light

What pain and darkness have you been experiencing? Have you been asking why instead of asking what and how? I like the Imagine Dragons “Believer” song for many reasons, but one is that it is NOT called “Pain”, but rather “Believer”.
 
Believe in your path and choose it every day, multiple times a day. Believe in your pain, make friends with it and use it to further your growth. The world needs more people who have a vested interest in recycling darkness into light and helping others do the same. Are you a believer?
 
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 Who is the Author?
Gabrielle Anderson, lmft is the owner of the Family Therapy Center in Ashburn as well as a Marriage and Family therapist. She is a married mother of 2 and lives in Loudoun county. Contact Gabrielle here if you would like to schedule an appointment for therapy or if you have questions about the practice.