“Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again…”

Is the melody to that song stuck in your head now? If you read my posts, you are probably old enough to know those are the first lines of “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel.

We’ve had some darkness descend recently and I’ve needed a break from reality. Thankfully, I signed up for a $.99/mo. Hulu special this year and discovered the show “Only Murders in the Building.” (We’re behind the times, what can I say?)

In one episode I watched this week, Manhattan loses power and the characters find themselves in the dark. At one point, two characters start singing “The Sound of Silence” with the windows open. Other residents of the apartment complex hear them and soon everyone in the building is singing, “Hello darkness, my old friend” together – even if they are physically alone.

Not surprisingly, this song has been stuck in my head for several days now. Partly because of the song, but partly because of the imagery. Hello, darkness…again.

I texted a friend an update earlier this week and she wanted to know if I needed a coffee date. She offered Friday morning. And if that didn’t work, she offered Saturday afternoon. And if that didn’t work, she’d get her work schedule for next week soon and we could plan something next week. She wasn’t taking “no” for an answer.

I accepted Friday morning – and then spent the next several days talking myself out of getting together. I didn’t have the energy. I’d be bad company. Maybe even I just wanted to pout in the dark, alone. I really should just cancel, I thought.

“Silence like a cancer grows”

Those words are also from “The Sound of Silence.” And while I didn’t have them playing in my head this week, a similar thought kept floating around as I contemplated canceling.

Ultimately, I did decide to take the hand reaching out to me this morning. I showed up for the coffee date and shared. Because I might be in the dark, but I don’t have to sit there alone.

“Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”