As I walked today, I thought about the feeling of tunnel vision and the inescapable feeling we can experience of being in a dark, confining tunnel. Using the analogy, I pondered that if you were really stuck in an actual tunnel you would really want to focus on the exit. I began to think that if you are in the tunnel don’t focus on the darkness. As a matter of fact in a short amount of time the darkness would lose importance and you would look for light. There’s always light even if it's small or hard to see. It's up to us to focus on it and let it guide us out. If you focus on the darkness you will bumble around and stay in the tunnel way longer than you need to. Darkness can be terrifying. I think about the times I’ve gone to haunted house adventures or taken scary walks in dark forests. I’ve never liked it. Yet I have countless examples of times me and friends have intentionally sought it out.
There is something exhilarating, yet awful, about being scared and feeling lost.
In life we will face moments of darkness and lose sight of the way. We often see the moments as permanent and void of value. However, these are inaccurate thoughts that can pull us deeper into this darkened state (back in the tunnel).
There’s a passage in the song "Let It Be" by the Beatles that affirms that sometimes things just happen: “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine on until tomorrow, let it be.”
Seth Godin said, “Persistent people are able to visualize the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can’t see it.” When we find ourselves surrounded by darkness we have two choices: draw our attention to the fear or direct our focus towards the light. I think that is part of the draw of haunted houses and scary forest walks. We crave the situation to focus on the light and deal with frightening obstacles.
It’s easier to face scary situations we know are not real. But the value is even more powerful in real life. But what do you do when these situations...dark tunnels are thrown on you with seemingly no warning? It was Winston Churchill who said: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” To retreat is to lose sight of the personal growth life seeks to instill in us.
To follow the light at the end of the tunnel, we must advance through the darkness with hope.
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