Dark Path
This is a powerful path.
The dominant energy of this path is Fear.
Fear can manifest outwardly in many ways: anxiety, stress, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, victim-hood, depression, rage, jealousy, manipulation, deceit, control, selfishness, greed, judgement.
Quite a list.
Fear tempts us to believe we are weak. So we shrink ourselves or lash out in response.
Fight or flight.
This is walking the Dark Path (which all of us have done/are doing).
Light Path
The dominant energy of this path is Love.
Love can manifest in many ways: self-love, self-confidence, kindness, understanding, courage, strength, boundaries, joy, unity, flow, surrender, authenticity, balance.
Love inspires you to accept yourself and others.
Give and receive from a full cup.
This is walking the Light Path (which all of us have done/are doing).
A Choice
It’s easy to conclude Dark=Bad, Light=Good.
This misses the point, and akin to saying Night=Bad, Day=Good.
The virtues of Light are obvious. Let’s discuss the virtues of the Dark.
The Dark can be a great teacher. Perhaps the greatest teacher. My greatest lessons and growth have come from wrangling with the Dark.
The Dark offers you a challenge to overcome. To prove your mettle.
It gives you a choice.
You can make the choice most make - ignore it, hide from it, medicate it, fake it, pretend it doesn’t exist. Ironically, this is choosing to walk in the Dark, to continue acting out repeated (Dark) behavior patterns. The more you run, the more it owns you.
Or you can face it, acknowledge it. Get to the root of what it’s trying to tell you. What pain or fear it’s hiding. What it’s asking you to heal. To just shine some light on it.
This isn’t easy (hence so few do it).
Ironically, diving into the Dark is the only way to truly walk in the Light.
“My dark days made me strong. Or maybe I was already strong and they made me prove it.”
— Emery Lord
Mastery
Guess what else happens when you overcome the Dark’s challenge?
A new one shows up (the Universe has a wicked sense of humor).
But now you’re stronger, wiser and have more tools / weapons.
This is to illustrate that the point of life isn’t to eliminate the Dark. You can’t.
Where there’s light, there’s always going to be some shadows.
Life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Life is enjoying/basking in the Light, while accepting the Dark and stepping through the challenges it offers.
This is growth, this is Mastery.
Up and down. Rise and fall. Night and day. Light and Dark.
Divine Duality.
Have a wonderful weekend,
-Amit