the artist is held, Monotype of the Day #261

Mystics describe a transformative state called the Dark Night of the Soul. It is a moment when life is complete chaos and everything is going wrong. We feel utterly lost and abandoned by the divine. But rather than being lost, mystics believe this is the moment when we are actually held closest to the divine. We are lodged deeply in divine reason which seems like chaos to the human mind, so close to the divine that you are literally blinded by the Light. All appears in darkness and no path forward is clear. This state is necessary to transform and breakdown old structures and beliefs that stand in the way of growth and change. It is the undoing of the ties that bind us to our easy habits and well worn ruts which hold us back. It is the way of the artist to embrace and surrender to change.