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It’s a Dark Night of the Soul for the Democrats
And that means we don’t just “get back up again” — not quite yet.
The 16th-century mystic St. John of the Cross coined the term “dark night of the soul” while undergoing immense spiritual confusion and pain.
In modern times, the term is often used in spiritual circles to describe the emptiness one feels after losing a sense of purpose, place, or identity. Anytime we fail to find meaning in life or lose touch with our inner compass, we might be on the eve of a dark night of the soul.
Many life events can thrust an individual into a dark night of the soul. It can be something tangible like a job loss or a relationship breakup. Or, it can be less visible, like a midlife or identity crisis. But once fully within a dark night of the soul, one must do the work that it demands — work such as sorting through beliefs and conditioning, reflecting on one’s life path so far, and resetting one’s inner compass to full functionality.
A dark night of the soul is notoriously frightening and lonely. There are no reliable timelines, no 10 easy steps, no shortcuts. But if we set aside ambitions and allow ourselves to fully examine our beliefs, preconceptions, biases, and personal truths, we can return to our lives with fresh creative ideas, inspiration, and wisdom.