“Be patient where you sit in the dark. The dawn is coming.”

 Rumi

We are at this reflective time of year right now. The holidays. And many of us have encountered at least one version of the famous holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.”

Many of us are familiar with the cast of characters: the miser, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

It’s that last character, the Ghost of Christmas Future, that, perhaps, hovers in our psyches the most right now.

“Ghost of the Future,” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”

Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”

The Future.

The intimidating and scary future.

Once we get past the delusions of many of the unrealistic resolutions we make and swear we will fulfill in our lives, we can be filled with the dread of the Grim Reaper Future.

Dickens, specifically, depicts, perhaps, this Ghost to be the scary, hooded and robed figure of impending death and doom, for a reason.

Things can and will die, even in the context of a brand- new year.

Happy holidays, everyone!

And, like the bargaining stage of grief, many of us can bargain and beg, to no avail, for a different outcome, sparing us from all manner of death, loss, and ending in this blessed future year…

“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”

“…Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”
Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”

Beyond the noisemakers and midnight kisses, there looms darkness and insecure question marks of what lies ahead. Twelve o’clock midnight is the magic time of new starts. A do-over.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on ourselves, isn’t it?

Perhaps, we’d do better to throw a little Rumi in with Dickens, when we approach the new year, and the bigger picture of the new start…

“Be patient where you sit in the dark. The dawn is coming.”

 Rumi

So, while we reflect on Dickens, let’s also break things down a bit with Rumi.

“Be patient…”

With New Year’s Eve, we recognize we have come to the end of yet another year.

Most of us have been through some stuff this past year. It’s been stuff that has pulled on our emotions, our finances, and our abilities. How hard are we on ourselves for any pesky human behaviors that reared their less- than- flattering heads during such experiences?

Patience is a virtue. And it’s meant to be extended not only on others, but to ourselves as well. How patient are we with ourselves?

Grace.

Recognition of human limitations.

Giving liberal breaks for imperfection.

Yes, please.

These are some of the things we need to reflect on; it’s not just about how we have blown it.

Yes, we have.

And yes, we are worthwhile enough to be patient, despite the blown- up circumstances.

“…where you sit…”

We are sitting somewhere.

Is it a hotseat? Is it a place of comfort? Happiness? Sadness? Love? Grief? Fear?

It’s important to accept our situation for what it is, whatever it is. Not easy or painless. But it is worth noting.

We are in a different place than we were last year. No two years are identical. Maybe last year was better. Maybe it was worse. Most of us, realistically, experience a “mixed bag” of experiences from year to year.

What’s yours?

“…in the dark…”

Some of us are “in the dark” right now.

“The dark night of the soul.”

Are we, indeed, “in the dark,” or are we struggling with the dark being in us?

Honestly assessing what the darkness means for us can help get us through this “rough patch,” even as we live out New Year’s Eve.

If the darkness is too much, there is help. Therapy, support groups, trusted loved ones.

Each one of us needs to bear in mind, even in the dark, it is still not hopeless.

Lifeline (988lifeline.org)

“…The dawn is…”

I know, I know, I know. It’s cliché.

There exists the dawn, answering the night, New Year’s Eve included.

However, many of us are in an emotional or a mental state in which we feel dawn is a thing of the past, no longer in existence for us.

Nope.

The dawn still is a thing of the present. It still exists.

“…coming.”

And, besides existing, it is coming for us. It will arrive again and again. This is the true hopeful resolution promise.

More chances.

We aren’t only restricted to a one-time FOMO opportunity of “get it right, or else!”

We had multiple chances this past year. Some went well; some didn’t. Some exceeded our expectation; some broke our heart.

But they kept coming… and they will keep coming FOR US!

So, Dear One, take in Dickens; take in Rumi. Apply them both to this year’s end and to next year’s beginning.

Blessings this holiday season, and beyond to us all!

Copyright © 2022 by Sheryle Cruse