The dark night of the soul

 

(The Dark night of the Soul) also referred to as the Night of Pan: the mystical state where one’s ego goes to die a small death in order to be reborn as a Soul. In mythological terms it’s a journey into the Underworld, where difficult trials must be completed before the hero can return back to the “real” world.

(...)

Freedom is something you do, not something you are. It is not a given. It takes effort, courage, and determination, usually in the face of those who would force you to live their way. You see how the inert, civilized human has escaped the anguish of freedom only to fall into a state of preoccupation and paranoia.

(...)

Like the Hindu Goddess of Never Not Broken, you’re learning to embody the ability to come together and fall apart, over and over again. 

Indeed, you’re discovering that your strength comes precisely from your ability to experience a dark night of the soul and come out of it with scars blazing like badges of honor.

You are constantly in the throes of metanoia. You’ve been fire-tested. You’ve been verified by vicissitude. Your strength comes from your ability to adapt and overcome to falling apart and coming back together again, from wholeness to brokenness and back to a stronger form.

Gary Z McGee