light on Afraid of the Dark

Darkness is not the opposite of light; it is the absence of light.

Sigmund Freud tells the story of a three-year-old boy crying in a dark room of a home he was visiting one evening. “Auntie,” the boy cried, “talk to me! I’m frightened because it is so dark.” His aunt...

Fear grows in darkness; if you think there’s a bogeyman around, turn on the light.

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark: the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.