Darkness and Light

Darkness and light. We often see light as possessing the good and the pure, with darkness being somewhat sinister and best avoided. Darkness often fills us with fear and causes us to recoil, we attribute negative characteristics to darkness, possibly because it saves us having to explore our own. We work to avoid our own darkness, keeping busy - even busy minds, to avoid staring into our own darkness. However, for as long as we avoid the necessary exploration of our darkness it is this very unexplored side that will be at the root of our behaviours, actions and interactions because it will remain our full motivating force. And, whilst that won't always be a negative thing, it will be something that has not been bought into our own consciousness.

Darkness and light is not an issue of polarity. I don't believe that they sit at opposite ends of the scale. Beauty can be found in darkness as much as in light, and good can result from darkness as much as from light. We need both. It's not about embracing one and avoiding the other, it's not about running towards one and running away from the other. It's not about good and evil. What it is about is relationship, bringing everything into that inner relationship experience and recognising that we need to be of both in order to be whole, to be complete. Without light we will never know the dark, but without dark we will never know the full truth.

Darkness teaches us so much about ourselves because so much of ourselves hides away in shadow. Often, what really motivates us is hidden away in secret places. We have to be brave enough to walk into those shadows and embrace our whole selves, letting the dark mingle and merge with the light to become one - to become me. To become you. We need both to be fully human and we need both to be fully authentic.

Embrace the dark of you! Allow the dark to teach and lead you and do not attempt to view light and dark as good and evil, but as equal in the relationship that makes you the unique person that you are.

With light, there will always be shadows - and that's a good thing!