We fear things we don't understand or have no apparent control over. How could we not be afraid of the things we can't see and understand? Is there a God? Are there miracles? Who made me?

As much as we all may have been trying, many of us, including myself, still live our lives in virtual darkness, that is, not having the light so brightly in our lives that everything is clear to us. There are so many things around us that we don't understand or just can't begin to comprehend. These unknown factors are automatically feared by us since they are alien to the way we think and perceive our lives.

Consider the way we treat people around us. So many of our ethnic disputes and hatred for other races has to do with not understanding them, therefore fearing them, therefore wanting to destroy them. When you walk past a group of people speaking a language you don't understand and using gestures unknown to you, it's not uncommon for fear to rise up inside you. This is the seed of racism.

To get a better understanding of what darkness is, consider that darkness in the spiritual world can be perceived in a similar way to darkness in the physical world. When you don't understand something as it stands, parables or metaphors are the best route to take to get a better picture.

Imagine yourself camping in the dense jungle. You wake up late at night to find the campfire had gone out and there is only some moonlight to see by. Even so, the trees block most of the moonlight out. The air is filled with a whirlwind of sounds that make you nervous and jittery. A sudden movement nearby makes you jump and turn around, heart beating ever so faster. Even the wind blowing through the trees sends streams of fear down your spine. You are afraid because you can't see what is making those noises and what is moving around. You are afraid because your mind has been programmed that anything unknown is dangerous or threatening. It's the "Shoot first, ask questions later" type of thinking.

If the jungle suddenly lit up you would see there were monkeys and beautiful parrots nearby. You would see the palms and leaves on the trees ever so beautifully swaying in the wind. Your fear would vanish at once because your mind can now comprehend what it sees. It no longer has to ponder what may be making those noises. Your mind no longer creates illusions for you to belive in and to draw fear from. The absence of darkness is light, just as the absence of fear is love and understanding.

Our spiritual path has many of the same characteristics. We fear things we don't understand or have no apparent control over. How could we not be afraid of the things we can't see and understand? Is there a God? Are there miracles? Who made me? What is my purpose? Do I have a path to follow? Sometimes were afraid of what the answer might be. Other times were afraid because we just don't know what the answer is. Fear is darkness. Darkness is fear.

Being able to walk confidently through the darkness requires unconditional trust in your creator. You must learn to be thankful for everything that happens, which includes all the good and bad things. Why the bad things too? Because, since you are shrouded in darkness, you only perceive the event or situation as bad. You are not seeing things for what they really are. We all see things from such a narrow and biased point of view, but your creator sees the whole picture, and so it's critical that you trust your creator at all times.

The reality however is that there is nothing in the darkness to fear as long as you keep your creator in your heart and at the helm of your life. You must trust him as you walk in the darkness, totally blinded by the fears of life and death, while holding his hand and allowing him to lead you through. As you grow and learn, little by little, it will get brighter and brighter and you will see things more clearly. Someday, perhaps in this life or in the next reality, the day will come when the darkness has totally faded away and the only thing left to see is your Creator standing next to you, as he had been all along.