Michaelmas

I'm wearing black today. Black shirt, black pants. I may even wear my famous black hat. If it were a tad cooler, I would wear my black leather vest.

I often wear black on Friday because the day is a reminder of Good Friday, when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.

Why do I chose to bring this to your notice? And what does it have to do with Michaelmas (the feast of St Michael and All Angels)? By the way, Michaelmas was Thursday, Sept. 29.

Because I am also wearing my bow-tie. As you see, it is based on a design by M.C. Escher. It's white fish on a black background. The fish seem to be in groups of three (at least in the section I scanned for this entry).

I'm also wearing my seer-sucker coat, which is a pattern of thin black stripes on a white background.

This is my way to acknowledge The Light in the Darkness. The yin in the yang, and visa versa.

In the original illustrated version of Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung reproduced a piece of art of the Archangel Michael with that ancient dragon (Satan). The circularity of the two principles looked eerily like yin/yang.

In Talmudic tradition, Michael's name is held to mean "he who is like God." Satan is also known as Lucifer, a name that means "Light Bringer". Milton holds that Lucifer's folly was seeking to be like God. So, we see the figures mirror each other.

It's a good time, in other words, to acknowledge the light in my own darkness. Since I get a case of the blues around this time of year, seasonal affect disorder would seem likely. What I must guard against is despair.

Despair led me to write that I was bored with my self and with my life. I knew it seemed melodramatic when I wrote that a little over a week ago. I also knew the only chance I had to overcome the darkness was by naming it, describing it, confronting it.

Depression is one thing. The next rung down is despair. Despair is an affliction of those who have a poor sense of history. That is to say, it seizes one who has come to believe his or her present darkness will never end.

Allowed to continue unchecked, despair will pull the trigger, pop the pills, or secure the rope.

It's important for me to name it. It's important for me to remind myself that I've been here before, and I've always come out the other side.

It's important to honor the light in the darkness. That's why I wore black AND white today.