I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kathleen Deyer Bolduc’s reflection Light in the Darkness. One of my favorite scriptures—one that I repeat to myself often—is from the book of John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5 NIV) As a woman who has lived with chronic illness these last few years, I’ve become familiar with darkness. It manifests some days as depression, some days as anxiety, and, on my worst days, something bordering on hopelessness. 

As a virtual monastery, our community reaches around the globe. As of November 2025, over 1700 people have affirmed the Monk Manifesto to join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks, committing to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.  We love how our virtual format allows dancing monks around the world to stand in solidarity with one another. At the same time, our leadership team has longed to find ways for our community to connect locally and face-to-face. While technology offers many gifts, there is also something special about being in the embodied presence of other kindred spirits. A unique

A Blessing for CreativitySpirit of Holy Imagination,we ask you to bless our visionwith the wisdom to see what is possible. Help us trust our desire to createthrough color, word, shape, gesture, and song. When our fingers trembleat picking up a pen or marker,connect us to the joy of playing on the white page, drawing,doodling, dabbling, dreaming,letting our livesbe a canvas for expression. When judgments ariseand the inner critic yells, guide us to hear our intuitionswhispering the way aheadwith quiet confidence. When our feet feel restless,inspire us to play music and dance freely until peace descends again. Connect us to the