There may come a time when you are plunged into darkness, painfully shedding the layers that constructed and upheld your former identity and modes of finding meaning in this life. Trying though it may be, this time lost and afloat will guide you to a more fine tuned communion with grace. But how do you know if you’re experiencing a sign of this embarkation, or did the subway doors just kind of close right before you got to the subway platform? Take this quiz to find out:
Are you plunged into darkness?
1. I can no longer see the path before me. I have lost all sight and control.
2. Sort of, yes. I mean, there are lights, but I’m underground. I am on the subway platform.
Are you feeling isolated?
1. I am alienated from the world around me. I am the sole passenger on a ship with no sail and no rudder in the middle of the black ocean.
2. I’m actually super isolated because I missed this train by literal seconds, so now I’m the only asshole at this station because everyone else either just got on or got off the train.
Does life have meaning?
1. I thought so once. Things used to make sense. Now I’m not so sure. Existentially adrift, I question my every sense.
2. If I had left my apartment freaking moments earlier, if I hadn’t stopped and taken that last sip of coffee, I would be on the train right now. So, yeah, pretty sure life is cruel and it’s best not to try and make sense of it.
Do you feel God has abandoned you?
1. Oh, Lord. Have you forsaken me? I cannot feel your presence, your love, your warm guidance. What has become of me?
2. Um, I’m standing here on the subway platform, the next train is in NINE minutes, and I forgot my headphones. You tell me.
Results:
Mostly 1’s: You are totally entering the dark night of the soul! It’s going to be so, so hard, but if you survive then at the end you’ll feel totally amazing, like hot yoga or reading a whole news article. Good luck and hold tight! It’s going to get a lot worse.
Mostly 2’s: Okay, so you actually just missed the train. Like, you watched the doors close in front of you, and that’s really hard. The good news is another train will ultimately come. The bad news is you’re not any closer to spiritual enlightenment. Win/lose!
