119 – Dark

It’s time for a blog break. My hope is a short one – a week or two.

Visit the Lights tab to discover how you can participate in thoughts for a future beach walk. Thanks to those who have submitted ideas. Keep thinking!

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I like walking on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

As I work toward the water, dark clouds are on the horizon. I am uncertain of the direction it is moving. I walk my normal trek with a watchful eye on the sea. Being aware of its presence – to stay alert. Maybe thinking about an appropriate keyword will help me maintain awareness.

Dark can be a noun or an adjective – plus its forms can be an adjective, verb, or adverb. Besides dark, think darkish, darken, darkly, darkness, darker, and darkest.

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Dark is that shade or color that is much closer to black than white. Dark reflects very little. The darkest hues of blue, purple, green, gray, and red only expose traces of a color dark is attempting to hide.

Dark is a time of day as in night, nightfall, nighttime, and the midnight hour – all times of darkness – but “be home before dark” has a specific meaning for parents.

Dark is a place absent of light. A place one cannot see their hand waving in front of their face. Now that’s dark – pitch dark. To human sight, having only the faintest light is still dark – but not pitch dark. Even when walking around the neighborhood at night, the houses are shades of gray – but not the colors they display during midday.

Dark allows us to see the nighttime stars – maybe even the Milky Way. For stargazers, the darker the better – but they may also wonder about the dark side of the moon.

Dark is not only related to light, but dark is also a complex word about a time, place, or feeling. So, dark is a powerful metaphor.

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Dark can be an expression such as angry, threatening, moody, brooding, sullen, dour, scowling, forbidding, ominous, sinister, evil, wicked, sinful, immoral, bad, ungodly, and unholy. All these can be seen on the dark side.

Dark is pessimistic, such as gloomy, dismal, negative, downbeat, grim, somber, and fatalistic. Maybe the dark clouds on the horizon are an omen for a storm, a fear, or a personal problem.

Dark is a time of tragedy, unhappiness, and unpleasantness, such as tragic, disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic, and cataclysmic.

Dark is a situation as grim and depressing – such as the darkest hour or dark times as they serve as an omen of an undesired outcome.

Dark is something we associate with a cellar or a dungeon – even death and a grave.

Dark is the lack of knowledge or understanding – a state of ignorance – a time of stagnation, no growth, without enlightenment – the Dark Ages or in the dark.

Dark is about the unknown, the seemingly unsolvable or even unexplored – yet when found, dark becomes the light of knowledge. After all, whistling in the dark also carries the hope of being found.

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Dark can also be a playful word carrying a variety of meanings. The dark horse is synonymous with a shot in the dark. Human nature has a dark side, but hopefully one does not choose to be left in the dark, leap in the dark, and intentionally leave someone in the dark.

Dark is a closed theater – possibly a day without a production – therefore, a day off for the cast and crew.

Shadows are dark – and seemingly even darker is the outline of a dark figure in obscurity – yet Dark Shadows has a different meaning to those of a certain age.

Dark – the place where the one not mentioned resides.

Today is not a dark day. The sky is now bright. The earlier dark clouds offshore had either dissipated or moved on. Something good has come from the silver lining of those dark clouds – so today is a good day. Plus, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Dark

• A Dark Mist (a poem)
• Crawling Out of a Dark Void (a poem by an occasional visitor here)
• Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas (essay and photos)
• Into the Dark (a poem)
• A Dark Memory (a personal essay)
• Light and Dark (a poem)

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