--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is…" description: "\"Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if we flow with the black bile of melancholia and endure the terrible darkness of depression, ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/arnold-mindell-32688_black_darkness-whether-in-mood-or-in-night-is_2530132.jpg" --- # Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if… ![“Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if we flow with the black bile of melancholia and endure the terrible darkness of depression, eventually we will break through into the light of joy. This is the Tao (the Way) of darkness or depression--this is the Mystery of its evolution.” quote by Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/arnold-mindell-32688_black_darkness-whether-in-mood-or-in-night-is_2530132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/arnold-mindell-32688_black_darkness-whether-in-mood-or-in-night-is_2530132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/arnold-mindell-32688_black_darkness-whether-in-mood-or-in-night-is_2530132.jpg) > “Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if we flow with the black bile of melancholia and endure the terrible darkness of depression, eventually we will break through into the light of joy. This is the Tao (the Way) of darkness or depression--this is the Mystery of its evolution.” [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Depression is a natural state that, when accepted, can transform into joy through the Taoist process of embracing darkness. **In simple terms:** Accepting darkness can lead to joy. Key Takeaway Embrace and work through depression. Themes mental health transformation Taoism acceptance growth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal journaling - mindfulness practice - support groups Key Concepts shadow work psychological alchemy mind-body integration Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor your low moods without resistance? - What practices help you move from darkness to light? A Different Perspective Transformation may be slow and not guaranteed for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Break through](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-through/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-depression-1334999/) [Darkness Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-mood-1335000/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Melancholia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholia/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Tao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tao/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-darkness-1335001/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [How terrible this darkness was, how bewildering, and yet mysteriously beautiful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/how-terrible-this-darkness-was-how-bewildering-and-yet-mysteriously/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Frequently we're asked to come in when the Tao is conflict and crisis. 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(—Roman Payne; Valencia, Spain, November 2nd 2012)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/spanish-rain-a-maiden-s-dress-apothecary-pills-and-ancient-thrills/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/and-i-want-to-play-hide-and-seek-and-give-you-my-clothes-and-tell-you/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [Melancholia for Freud is the relationship that the subject takes up with respect to itself from the position of what he calls conscience or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/melancholia-for-freud-is-the-relationship-that-the-subject-takes-up/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [“Melancholia is, I believe, a musical problem: a dissonance, a change in rhythm. While on the outside everything happens with the vertiginous rhythm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandra-pizarnik/melancholia-is-i-believe-a-musical-problem-a-dissonance-a-change-in/) [Alejandra Pizarnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandra-pizarnik/) > [We've never changed for anybody I think that the whole of the first world, it's suffering is very self-indulgent, there's no real reason to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richey-edwards/we-ve-never-changed-for-anybody-i-think-that-the-whole-of-the-first/) [Richey Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richey-edwards/) > [“Let’s call my mood melancholy; let’s call it remembrance. Or maybe let’s call it longing. Yes, let’s call it longing instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-celebi/let-s-call-my-mood-melancholy-let-s-call-it-remembrance-or-maybe-let/) [Shannon Celebi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-celebi/) > [I am not sad, but I am melancholic. When you lose your mother at 20 and then your father soon after, melancholia is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-kaas/i-am-not-sad-but-i-am-melancholic-when-you-lose-your-mother-at-20-and/) [Patricia Kaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-kaas/) > [As a confirmed melancholic, I can testify that the best and maybe only antidote for melancholia is action. However, like most melancholics, I suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/as-a-confirmed-melancholic-i-can-testify-that-the-best-and-maybe-only/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“How she listened, the first time, to the sonorous lamentations of romantic melancholia echoing out across heaven and earth! If her childhood had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/how-she-listened-the-first-time-to-the-sonorous-lamentations-of/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [If you look at Kirsten Dunst's performance in 'Melancholia,' which I think is absolutely wonderful - it's not even in the text, because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/if-you-look-at-kirsten-dunst-s-performance-in-melancholia-which-i/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/writing-is-a-form-of-therapy-sometimes-i-wonder-how-all-those-who-do/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“We're in the business of melancholia and we are married to our work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-renee-kiser/we-re-in-the-business-of-melancholia-and-we-are-married-to-our-work/) [Casey Renee Kiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-renee-kiser/) ## More by Arnold Mindell > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [We must be able to identify all the parts in a system and allow them to speak. All the parts in a group, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/we-must-be-able-to-identify-all-the-parts-in-a-system-and-allow-them/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [People have a need to feel their pain. Very often pain is the beginning of a great deal of awareness. As an energy center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/people-have-a-need-to-feel-their-pain-very-often-pain-is-the/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [“You are born in a human form, and you find joy in it. Yet there are ten thousand other forms endlessly transforming that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/you-are-born-in-a-human-form-and-you-find-joy-in-it-yet-there-are-ten/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Many of us would like the world to change, but we don't want to endure the trouble of helping make it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/many-of-us-would-like-the-world-to-change-but-we-don-t-want-to-endure/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Frequently we're asked to come in when the Tao is conflict and crisis. We encourage people to let that Tao happen and not repress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/frequently-we-re-asked-to-come-in-when-the-tao-is-conflict-and-crisis/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Structural work is only a bandage unless feelings have been healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/structural-work-is-only-a-bandage-unless-feelings-have-been-healed/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [All I know for sure is that dreams are the pictures of states wanting to turn into processes. Dreams are maps of the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/all-i-know-for-sure-is-that-dreams-are-the-pictures-of-states-wanting/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [We are neither this way nor that; we are a body which is in the midst of change and evaporating. We are timeless, thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/we-are-neither-this-way-nor-that-we-are-a-body-which-is-in-the-midst/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Harmony is a wonderful thing, but not nearly as powerful as awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/harmony-is-a-wonderful-thing-but-not-nearly-as-powerful-as-awareness/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Everyone is a Taoist at heart. Everyone would like to follow nature, but we don't have enough tools yet to put the philosophy into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/everyone-is-a-taoist-at-heart-everyone-would-like-to-follow-nature/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [The larger goal of Deep Democracy is not me changing you and you changing me. But we learning how to relate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/the-larger-goal-of-deep-democracy-is-not-me-changing-you-and-you/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [Leadership is a group project, and all of us are necessary to fill it. 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