Know Your Darknesses

"If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."

- William I. Thomas,
sociologist

"Ask yourselves, all of you... what power would Hell have if those here imprisoned were not able to Dream of Heaven?"

- Morpheus (Dream),
Neil Gaiman in Sandman #1

"Every endless night has a dawning day
Every darkest sky has a shining ray
...
It's a private emotion that fills you tonight
And a silence falls between us
As the shadows steal the light
And wherever you may find it
Wherever it may lead
Let your private emotion come to me."

- Private Emotions,
(singer) Ricky Martin

Something a commentor wrote in one of Mr Wang's posts caught my eye and set me thinking. Amongst other things, he wrote this sentence, "Surely a counsellor [social worker] should point towards the light, rather than dwell on the dark." Rather than hovering on the endless issue of the papanons, I am in favour of discussing this notion of light and darkness today.

The above quotes have expressed my position eloquently - in so many other words, I am who I am because of all the joys and sorrows I have encountered. My life and ability to help would be much poorer if I only looked at the light and never upon the dark. How would one know the qualities of light if one has never seen pure darkness? Nevertheless I understand the importance of being a light for my clients, as they usually come to us because of their various perceived darknesses, personal and/or structural. We bandage their wounds, and we fight for them when they are in a better position to challenge their circumstances.