The Dark can heal you too
It creeps in like a silent demon, your shadow, at least that is how you perceive it as - your demons. The dark, unhealed, unattended, and neglected parts of us are tormenting, scary, and difficult to face because of the said prejudices we already have about those parts of ourselves without actually having to face them ever.
These silent parts of us that bleed into our relationship with work, loved ones, ourselves and anything which is an extension of us, create chaos and brew storms that we do not anticipate. Our dark side is just as much who we are, as is our light. It is comprised of moments wherein our self expression was subdued, neglected, or condemned. It also consists of experiences that may not have occurred in this lifetime, but in some other. A lot of it is also projections and expectations of the society, imbibed by us.
For example, in a family which is all about positivity, poise, and grace, when the girl child expresses her anger against something that does not align with her truth, she is met with a hostile response of physical, verbal or emotional abuse as the family shuns this kind of behaviour. This makes her to spiral down into the ‘wrong-ness’ of who she is as she tries to express herself. Now, that she is a teenager, she comes across an experience of bullying and instead of being able to stand her ground, she suppresses her anger, a part of her intense energy that is her life-force and makes herself small to fit in, to be accepted, and to be not seen as someone who is a troublemaker. As an adult, she has a hard time building her self confidence and even being sure about her work, which leads to opportunities that may suffocate her, not appeal to her soul, and drive her into a very dark place from which it seems impossible to come out.
Now, recognising this pattern through self reflection, would help her to understand where this all began or even focus on why this is something to work upon and release. This is truly a eureka moment! Once this is acknowledged, she can address the wound - which is not a very pretty sight, but imperative nonetheless. Whenever we are experiencing old wounds and or similar patterns, it is either for the purpose of learning what has not been addressed earlier, or to release them with a new awareness or both. Remember, it is always darkest before the dawn.
When you see your light in these darkest moments, your light which reminds you of your strength to address this, to face it, to integrate a lost part of yourself, you revive yourself in a way that is beyond magical and you see your true potency as a being. Now, the same girl after integrating the part of her shadow of not being able to speak her truth, post integration could be a powerful activist, a potent speaker uplifting others, a voice for the voiceless!
Integrating your shadow with your light also helps you to understand yourself better and know that you do not have to take the world’s weight and do everything on your own, certain aspects that may seem uneasy for you might come naturally to someone else. It does not make them better, it just makes them different, someone with a different speciality than yours. We are all co-creating, and at the core we are all one. And we all shine magnificently with our own individual spark!
