Dark & light together

Yesterday we talked about letting go of the approval of others and moving toward authenticity. Doing so involves honesty about those hidden parts of ourselves that we don't like to expose, even to ourselves.

Yes, we all have a dark side—as well as our good side. The process of becoming more authentic and of reclaiming who we really are involves recognizing and accepting that we have both sides of everything inside us. Whenever I point my finger at someone else's bad behavior, I have to also acknowledge that I too am capable of that same behavior, given the right (or wrong) circumstances. That awareness can be humbling. However, it's part of the human journey to health and wholeness.

In Lutheran circles, this is called being both saint and sinner at the same time. It's not either/or. It's both/and. Our task is to be aware of this and then do those things that help us act most often out of our loving, caring, good side—in other words, bring more light into the world rather than take light out of it. To do so, we need to take a look at what we're reading, watching and taking into our minds and bodies. With what type of people are we surrounding ourselves? When we find ourselves angry and negative, it's time to stop and check out what's happening inside. It's not a time to beat ourselves up. It's time to get in touch with the anger and find ways to release it. Let it go. Make the necessary changes so it doesn't keep building up and turning you into someone you don't want to be.

We're human. We won't get it right all the time. We won't be positive and happy every minute. But we can be honest about our both/and nature and do the best we can!