“I’m going to be brave for the both of us and choose love over hate. I gave you some of my love. And in return I’m taking back some of your darkness. Our darkness. You are a part of me. And I’m a part of you whether you like it or not.” (Regina in Once Upon A Time)
If you’ve never watched Once Upon A Time, it may be hard to understand this quote. But I’ll try to explain a little. Regina is talking to her “dark side”, the Evil Queen. Earlier, she had separated herself from her dark side (a Jekyll and Hyde move), hoping to get rid of the evil within her once and for all. But she found out it really couldn’t be done. They were connected, the dark and the light, the good and the bad. And it wasn’t until she gave away some of her love and took back some of the darkness, that she truly became free from the evil.
Regina’s words are full of meaning. The light and the darkness battle within each one of us. We want the light to win, but we can’t get rid of the darkness, at least not easily. The darkness cannot be destroyed. The more we fight it, the stronger it comes back. No, darkness cannot be destroyed….it can only be transformed. And, yes, it CAN be transformed. And what transforms it? Love. Sacrifice. Connection.
We are all connected. We’re connected because we’re human. We’re connected because we all face the dark and light battle within ourselves. We’re connected because we all have the same Source, the same Creator. We are a part of each other. And we are a part of God. Jesus showed us how to win the battle between light and darkness on the cross….submitting to the darkness, and overcoming hate with sacrifice and love. He calls us to do the same for each other…..to help each other overcome the darkness within by carrying each other’s burdens, and by great acts of love. It’s hard. It’s scary. It demands so much. Yet entering the darkness is the only way to overcome it…to transform it to light.
Psalm 139:11-12(RSV)
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
John 1:4-5 (The Voice)
His breath filled all things
with a living, breathing light—
A light that thrives in the depths of darkness,
blazes through murky bottoms.
It cannot and will not be quenched.
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