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When the Darkness Appears

Dear Reader,


In the Brigham Young University Chorale, we are singing a song entitled "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." It is a really cool a Capella arrangement that encompasses a plea to the Lord to help us through life. The line "When the Darkness Appears" took on a new light when I was thinking about an aspect of getting to know people. When the darkness appears, there are two things that happen: people open up about themselves more and they are more prone to do irrational things. I'll give a few examples to demonstrate (as always).

I'll say again that people tend to open up more after dark. Take, for example, a girl that I took on a few dates a while back. We went out and did activities during the day. The dates were fun and we enjoyed talking to each other. However, I always felt there was something missing. My roommate suggested one evening that I take her out to something after dark. That was the first time the idea popped into my head that people will be more open after dark. Keeping that in mind, I was in said girls apartment one night at about 10:30 or so. While chatting, it was obvious that she was much more willing to share personal information and share her feelings about life. It was quite incredible to see that difference.

Example number two also has to do with a girl that I think pretty highly of. She and I talk a lot during the day because of time we are able to spend together. She is hard-working, very friendly and very talented. Until a few days ago, I didn't think there was anything wrong in her life. Then, we were doing something after nightfall. While working together, she opened up to me about some family problems that I never would have guessed she had. It was totally different side to her that I hadn't seen until that point. It was the 'after-dark' side of her.

The second thing that happens after dark is the increase of confident stupidity. For some reason, people tend to become more prone to do things that are usually pretty dumb ideas. There is a certain point in the evening or at night that people turn off their subconscious filter and do dumb things that they wouldn't normally do during the day. In other words, that thing some parents say about the Spirit going to bed at a certain time is not untrue. Although, I think it varies from person to person.

This idea of what happens after dark is something I wish that my kids will understand earlier rather than later. Kids, I hope you read this blog and take it to heart. Deal? Done.

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