Abdul Kalam, aerospace scientist and 11th president of India, said, “We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.” What he did not say was that we are also born into the world with imperfect caregivers, in an imperfect society that teaches us not how to give wings to the fire within. But to hide that fire and fit into an imperfect culture.
As we learn to adapt to our environment and our culture we create what Carl Jung called the Shadow. The understanding of the Shadow has changed over time. But it is basically comprised of those parts of us that we have learned are unacceptable. Our fears and our anger, for men our softness, for women their strength, these are examples of things society has deemed unacceptable and many of us have gone along with it since childhood. Today, our intelligence and self-confidence, our deep spirituality, and other positive qualities can also be part of the Shadow. These aspects are sometimes referred to as the Golden Shadow.
The Golden Shadow, the Dark Shadow, and the persona or masks we present to the world, are all part of what make us who we are. We need them all and we need to accept them all as aspects that make us whole. If we deny any part of us, we limit our ability to express our true selves.
Let me tell you briefly of a dream I had once when working with my Shadow-self. I was running from a shadowy figure feeling afraid he was going to catch me and my family and hurt us. We hid. But he found us, and I stood face to face with him. In that moment, I realized several things. He was drawn to the light. He didn’t want to hurt us. He wanted to be loved and embraced. And he was me.
I came away from that dream with a greater respect for my need to let go of what other people think is acceptable about me and love all of me. Who I am today is a result of the thoughts and feelings I’ve had and the beliefs I’ve developed. And each experience has been an opportunity for me to integrate and become my best self. Experiences aren’t opportunities for me to compartmentalize and separate myself into “good” and “bad.” They are opportunities to grow and become more whole in every way. Not good or bad. Just “me.”
In my youth, I tried very hard to be the person other people wanted me to be. I became so unhappy that I began drinking and doing drugs as a preteen. I thought I was numbing the pain of not being accepted for who I am. But with greater wisdom, I’ve realized, I was numbing the pain of not being who I am.
So, we have work to do if we want to “give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.” We have to come out of the trance of unworthiness and realize who we are. We are magnificent beings, born with the light of the universe that waits to shine through each of us in a way it can shine through no one else.
Namaste being of light.