good evening...
i closed my day today at starbucks doing my computer documentation...
FL has been back to normal for the past couple of days -- great winter weather -- 70 degrees and a nice breeze -- even at 6 p.m.
so i sat outside and thought for a few minutes...
what does it mean for me to embrace my shadow rather than running from it -- or trying to destroy that "darker" side of me???
sometimes i am tempted to embrace it, but keep it secret -- hide it away...
ignore it...
pretending it does not really matter...
NOT a good idea...
i have lived long enough to be really afraid of secrets...
so, i have carefully chosen some safe people and revealed my shadow -- my secret side...
paul tournier once said: "authentic mental / psychological health comes from living life with NO secrets..."
one thing i do know...
i cannot separate my internal life from my external interactions...
embracing my shadow does NOT mean hypocrisy -- being one thing inside and another thing outwardly...
henri nouwen says it best...
"What is most personal is most universal...
We like to make a distinction between our private and public lives and say, 'Whatever I do in my private life is nobody else's business.'
But anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal, the most hidden is the most public, and the most solitary is the most communal.
What we live in the most intimate places of our beings is not just for us but for all people.
That is why our inner lives are lives for others.
That is why our solitude is a gift to our community, and that is why our most secret thoughts affect our common life.
Jesus says, 'No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house' (Matthew 5:14-15).
The most inner light is a light for the world.
Let's not have 'double lives'; let us allow what we live in private to be known in public."
so, i am still searching during lent -- what do i do with my shadow...
how does owning it and embracing it make me whole?
how do i move beyond fearing it?
the answer must be a really good one because it is quite hard to discover...
the journey continues...
how about you???
shalom to all...
guy
a further thought -- how might i make my shadow my friend???
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One thing to remember about our shadow is that is a distorted view of our true self. When the sun is at its highest point during the day, our shadow is small, and sometimes barely visable. While our shadow tends to follow us around, it does not define us, it is merely cast. Maybe if we allow more of the Light of the Son in our lives, the shadow will have less power over us and become less obtrusive.
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