Skumaskot: Finding Peace in Dark Corners - Icelandic
As the creatures of light and shadow alike, we need darkness as a burrow to reveal our truth
I need to start with an apology.
In the Words of the World posts that I have been writing every week since May 2022, I have only missed two weeks. One was the week I lost my mother, and the other was last Friday. Last week went through me like a truck, and I couldn't manage to write or read even a sentence. My promise to myself and my readers was to write a post each week, but sometimes life makes surprises as we try to make our plans, and last week had a horrible surprise.
Anyway, I’m here, luckily, ready to write over a new concept and keep that horrible surprise aside to write over it. After the time will give me an appropriate distance to reflect on what happened and express them as they deserve it.
I chose this week's word from a somewhat more gloomy perspective, based on recent personal experience, because this is a very subjective area, and as the author of these pages, I have the authority to select the topics. So, my reader, today we shall deal with being in the dark. Maybe it doesn't exactly suit the upbeat spirit of the bright, sunny days we had been longing, but life can often be a whirling place where opposites shamelessly coexist. So let us take advantage of that today.
Today's term comes from a relatively unknown spot, Iceland. Iceland is a northern island with a population of just a few hundred thousand. It is an island with natural geysers, volcanoes, and odd weather patterns. Despite this, I believe it is a really interesting society, and I have no doubt that if I traveled there, I would come up with a plethora of new concepts, phrases, and materials to write.
Skumaskot means to enjoy being in the dark. It is preferring to be alone in the dark corners to being with people in the light.
Why does one prefer to be in dark corners?
Let's start from our own soul and ask ourselves questions. Whether extroverted or introverted, there are times when we avoid being in the public eye. What kind of times are these?
These are the times when we are wounded or vulnerable, when we wish to keep things to ourselves, when we are fearful or horrified, and when we find calm in the spontaneity of our own world. Our own world may be messy or unpleasant, but it is ours, and that is what matters.
When the eyes are not on us, we have the opportunity to take a deep breath and let our souls relax in the darkness, away from any distraction. Also, being alone in the dark acts as a veil of invisibility, concealing what we desire to hide and live in secret. In the absence of light, in an environment where you don't even see much of yourself, you can reveal whatever feelings or desires you have by calming your fears.
The blackness is so pure and real that nothing else can penetrate it. Truths must be revealed on a regular basis and in such a favorable setting.
We're creatures of light and shadow. On the surface, we may appear to be mermaids in vibrant colors; but, when we turn around, the heavy scars on our backs are revealed. Or, when we escape to a lonely corner and remove our disguise, we unavoidably notice irregularities in our body or feel our eyes filled with pain.
We, the people of the postmodern world, who have evolved into individuals struggling to exist in the world of spectacle, who try to stay afloat in the river of the attention economy, which is capitalism's application to today's human beings, have to find ways to repair our souls that are tired of being constantly in the public eye. The cheapest and easiest option is to go into our own solitude. The freedom to retreat into our own darkness and distance.
Although we tend to live beneath the light to avoid being classified as wallflowers, shadows do exist for a reason. They are our small clinics, where we can heal our wounds while going on our daily lives. We clean the blood from our wounds with our tongues, as injured animals do, in a far corner.
It is not normal to be in the dark all the time, just as it is not normal to run away from the darkness even when it is needed. The key word, I believe, as always, is balance.
At this point, I would not to end without mentioning the movie The Perks of Being A Wallflower. I chose it to watch Emma Watson, whose facial expressions I have loved since Hermione in Harry Potter, but then I liked it. It's a movie about some unlucky people who prefer living in the dark corners, and you can understand the reasons.
The days are bright and it's much nicer to be outside, but on a day when you prefer to be in the dark, this is a movie you might want to check out.
Have a great weekend!
Till next week,
— Gulsun
We are made of stories—that is, of words.
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I’m so sorry to hear that it’s been a dark week. I feel this too. Thank you for turning it into this offering.