The Berenstain Bears

I'm a fan of the Berenstain Bears. It's like they're part of the family! One of my favorites is "In the Dark". We do this thing in our home where we read to the kids at bedtime. It seemed like a really good idea when we had one child. It still seemed like a good idea when we had two kids. Three...still OK. Now I fall asleep reading to them. This of course makes them angry (they don't get how hard it is to stay awake reading anything at age 40). I digress...

So, Sister Bear refuses to sleep with the light off because she's scared of the dark. Papa Bear takes Sister Bear up to the attic where it's really dark (is this a good idea?) and says, "there's nothing special about the dark. It's just part of nature" (meaning..."get over it". That's what my dad would have said). I digress again...

When I read that the other day it struck me as interesting and true. The dark is part of nature. It happens. Not only do kids get freaked out by the dark, adults do too. Beyond the physical darkness, we experience disappointments, frustrations, and personal hurt. These life dilemmas have a way of throwing us in the dark. They don't necessarily sink us...it just gets dark. This stuff happens. The darkness comes. How will you respond? What's your coping mechanism?