photo : Hans Johnson
Manchester City Football team have complained about being woken early whilst on their alpine training break in Austria. Locals in an area of Styria have complained about their sleep being disturbed, too. Could this herald a ‘dark night’ for Austrian alpine areas?
Dark Night
In Christianity the term ‘dark night (of the soul)’ means that someone is having a spiritual crisis. Everything related to religious worship becomes unrewarding and of little value to them. Generally speaking at such times true ‘believers’ plow on with their prayers, despite their faltering faith.
There are those who see a ‘dark night’ as a blessing in disguise. It’s considered that at such times prayers or other observances are offered not for the sake of being virtuous, but for true love of God.
Disturbed Nights
The moans from Manchester City players and the shrieks from the sleep starved Styrians,were to do with bells. In the case of Man. City a neighbouring priest attending his daily duties (ringing the chapel bells) woke them at the ungodly hour of around 7:00am, whereas the clattering of bells through the night as cows fed from tin troughs caused disturbance from much earlier in the day for the near neighbours of the farms and fields.
The priest has refused to change his bell-ringing behavior on the basis that his devotion to duty outweighs the inconvenience of the City footballers. The farmer who owns the cattle on the other hand, has no choice but to quieten his cows. The District Judge has decreed and the herdsman must hearken!
Whilst we might have sympathy with the ‘short-on-sleep’ Styrians – maybe a little less with the Mancunians – these sorry stories have more in common than just a dose of nocturnal nuisance.
Abandoning An Ancient Identity
The ‘spiritual crisis’ associated with the Christian meaning of ‘dark night’ is a form of identity crisis. In Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, this is a period when we integrate our ideas of who we are and what others think about us. It’s a time when we experience confusion about our goals and priorities.
It’s reassuring to know that the priest has no such suffering. He clearly knows who he is and what his values are. He respects the ancient identity of his faith and let’s no man – however self-important or well paid that person might be – cause conflict for him.
The farmer however, seems forced to abandon his (and his herd’s) ancient identity. For centuries cows in the Austrian countryside have worn bells. The reasons for this are varied and to some extent, irrelevant in this instance. The fact is that bell wearing is how alpine cattle are recognised by the farmer and how they are thought about in the wider world. By banning the bells, the court has caused an identity crisis!
One can’t help but wonder if this now constitutes a ‘dark night’ for Austrian alpine areas.