Dialogue on darkness, continuation: Thomas Moore (II)

"I see a dark  night of the soul as a period of transformation. It is more like a stage in alchemy than and obstacle to hapinness. Usually it last a while -you wouldn't  call a day's worry a dark night of the soul. It doesn't always end happily with some new personal discovery. In fact, we will see several examples of people who committed suicide or succumbed to illness. To appreciate these episodes as transformations in the soul, you can't judge them by any simple, external measure. You have to look deep and close, understanding that you can make significant gains by going through a challenge, and yet it's not always obvious how you benefit from the darkness. Sometimes a dark night makes sense because of what it contributes to others, not what it does for you.
Thomas Moore,  Dark Nights of the Soul, xvii
Image by David Hpeworth, Dark Night of the Soul