The DaRk Side

Do you get frustrated when your dark being escapes? Do everything you can to put it neatly back in a container on your mental shelf?  Maybe your a closet snob.  Maybe you have a temper that could burn a city.  Maybe you let people step on you.  Maybe you play the role of the victim too often? What if we looked at it from the perspective of...whatever you feel like hiding is probably what inspires the brightest light. What if we looked at the dark side as a teacher, guider, love instigator?  Would it change how you handle the darkness?  Is it possible to examine our "faults" (for lack of a better word) the same as as we triumph a job well done. What if we looked at our internal dark beings as a growth opportunity, a celebration of who we are and the understanding that it is all part of our path / journey.  I sometimes loose it with my children instead of coming from a place of curiosity, I snap at my husband, I am not always patient, I can be a snob, judgmental, and even rude to the people I love most.  I want to be able to embrace the dark side as a gauge of how far I have come.  To honor that I am able to be present enough to see that it is dark and to understand the importance of balance.  I am not saying to idealize all that is bad and to grant yourself permission to behave in ways that are dark or hurtful.  I am however saying that we all have a dark side.  If we use our energy to constantly try and hide or squash it does it then consume us?

My dark being on the mat is the perfectionist, the ego self wanting to have everything look and feel exactly right, the judge who says I can't, the comparer of others that leads to "i suck", and the joyless striver.  My work on the mat will involve the non-judgemental observer, flowing from a state grace, leading with my heart and being aware of attitude in all that I do.  Oh and to tell myself I am a magnificent being both in the dark and in the light.

How will you embrace the dark?