I recently had one of those no-good-horrible weeks that pop up every now and then (usually in January when you realize your no-candy New Year’s Resolution is not so easy to keep!). My week started out iffy on Monday and got progressively worse. I told one of my friends about it. “You know what they say,” he said. “After the darkness comes the dawn.” Was he right? Can we find light in the darkness?
The following day, as I rode the subway to work, I thought about that line. And how so many people have written about the dawn that follows the darkness. I always come across quotes about that theme when doing research for Mysterious Ways magazine. I should compile all those quotes, I thought.
When I got into work, I promptly forgot all about the idea. Until lunchtime. I was reading about U.S. Olympic figure skater Nathan Chen, who was seriously injured after the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. “I went into a deep, dark hole,” he said of his long recovery process. “Nothing makes you stronger than crawling out of that darkness.”
Well, there was my reminder! I did a little digging and found some more quotes about the light that follows darkness, the beauty in tough times and the miracles that appear after storms. Here are some of my favorites. Please share your own favorite quotes about finding light in the darkness below!
- “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” –Francis Bacon
- “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” –Psalm 30:5
- “Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” –Madeleine L’Engle
- “We have to start viewing not just the good stuff as the miracle, but also the bad stuff that gets you to the miracle. The whole thing is a gift.” –Mastin Kipp
- “No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of the night.” –Elie Wiesel
- “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” –Rachel Carson
- “Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society—things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed.” –E.B. White
- “God is the light shining in the midst of darkness, not to deny that there is darkness in the world but to reassure us that we do not have to be afraid of the darkness because darkness will always yield to light.” –Harold S. Kushner
- “There is no glimpse of light without walking the path.” –Peace Pilgrim
- “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.” –Joseph Campbell
- “Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” –Sarah Williams
- “The dawn is not distant, nor is the night starless; love is eternal.” –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” –Hal Borland
- “In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me.” –Saint Augustine
- “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” –Desmond Tutu
