A few years ago, there was an animated movie called “Monsters Inc.”  It was about a group of monsters who scared small children in order to collect the energy from their screams.

The idea of “monsters under the bed” is part of our culture.  After the lights go out at night, what is under the bed?  For whatever reason, the monsters don’t come out until the lights go out.  What is it about darkness that makes the monsters come out?

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I once heard someone say “if you share a joy it will be doubled, and if you share a pain it will be halved”.  The act of talking about pain with another person is a way of shining light on it.  Not talking about this stuff is a way of keeping it in the dark.

JFK once said “better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness”.

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When I was little I thought there were monsters under my bed.  All that my parents had to do to make them go away was to turn on the light.  Something about the light, and their company, made the monsters go away.

Over the weekend, a friend confided some stuff with me.  Deep Dark Stuff.  Stuff about the monsters under his bed.  When he was done confiding it all with me, he looked lighter.  I think I helped him by listening.

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My friends all have their own Monsters Under The Bed.  Those monsters aren’t the furry snarling kind.  My friends monsters are more important things now.  Existential things.  Things like fear of loneliness.  Fear of not being able to provide for their families.  Fear of their own mortality.

What is it about Monsters Under The Bed that prefers darkness and isolation?  Why do they go away when it is light, and people are around?

Hal