Sometimes when you are in a dark place you may feel you have been buried, when in fact you have been planted.
This quote 
by Christine Caine holds a profound truth about hardship and struggle. When we are going through difficult times, it can feel like we are trapped in darkness with no hope or escape. The quote suggests that what feels like being buried in darkness may actually be a planting – an opportunity for growth.
When we are “in a dark place,” we often feel overwhelmed and unable to see a way forward. The darkness can feel suffocating and inescapable, as if we have been buried alive. Even though it can feel stifling or confining at the time, like we have been “buried,” we have actually been “planted.” Our difficulties have created fertile ground for personal development.
The quote reminds us that being “planted” indicates potential. A seed that is planted in soil may not yet see the sunlight, but it contains within it the possibility of sprouting and becoming something new. Even in our darkest moments, we hold within us the seeds of growth and change.
So instead of seeing our struggles as a permanent burial, we can choose to see them as an essential planting that allows us to grow stronger. Difficult times strengthen our roots, forcing us to dig deeper within ourselves to find inner resources we did not know we had. And just as a seed must remain in the ground for a time before it can emerge as a new plant, we too must remain in the “dark place” long enough for transformation to occur.
Dark times are an inevitable part of life, but they do not have to mean the end. They can instead signal the beginning of something new, if we remain open to growth during our struggles instead of giving up. The darkness may be what we need to transform and blossom into a better, stronger version of ourselves. So when you feel “buried,” remember you have actually been “planted” – now all you need is time, light, water and nutrients for growth.
What do you suggest to someone who is experiencing consistent, chronic, pain with no end in sight, but is promised to heal eventually? I know several people in my position and we sometimes want to just die. The physical pain becomes emotional pain, back and forth. It’s like torture of both the body an mind. We lose our souls.
Dear Susan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. My heart goes out to you for the pain you are going through. These are some tools I learned when I went through similar physical challenges:
1. When we have a pain, we usually focus on the pain without noticing that there are many areas in our body that are not feeling pain. See if you can observe areas in your body that are free from pain. Changing your focus will help you detach from the narrative you may be creating about your pain, and it will help detach from your emotional suffering.
2. Remember that everything is impermanent. Everything changes from moment to moment. Allow yourself to observe those changes in your body, observe the ebb and flow of the intensity of the pain. When you are observing it from this perspective, you separate yourself from the pain and you observe it as an entity all by itself. As a result, it loses the emotional power it has on you.
3. Remember that no experience we have is in vain. This challenge is certainly helping you grow in many ways. There is no growth in comfort. Growth only emerges from discomfort. You may not realize it now, but many years from now, in retrospect, you will see how this suffering expanded your awareness and helped you evolve in ways you would have never thought possible.
4. Do not give up. Ask the Creator for resources to overcome your present situation. Ask the Universe for strength and patience. And never forget to express gratitude for the many blessings you have in your life right now.
Much love to you, dear Susan