Duality, yin yang, peace vs suffering, good vs evil, light vs dark, crime vs justice, Superman vs Batman. I could go on with examples, but that's not why we're here tonight. I was recently shown something in my life journey.
Many religions and belief systems call for some sort of balance that comes with a promise of finding peace. There are others who demand a stern march toward the battle of pure goodness and light against the sinister evil darkness. And even others that call on you to "use your hate", or succumb to the darkness. Satanists and Sith Lords aside, I am seeing that many people, like myself, are in desperate need of a dualistic balance.
Being a warrior for good is something that's been programmed into many of us. I'm not going to stand here and tell you that's necessarily a bad thing. But..In my experience, purposefully leaning one way or the other, being light or darkness, seems to be accompanied by an over-average amount of chaos.
“Self-love is the only antidote to the chaos of existence. And if you don’t love and care for yourself and your own needs, you will cause unnecessary suffering both for yourself and others.” -Jordan B. Peterson
Now, I have met people who are beautiful children of light, and I'm not going to argue with someone else's purpose(that's part of my own dualistic balance). These people can become beacons of love and sources of happiness for the masses. But, I have been shown that I need to embrace the shadow work to find peace along my own path. This is a process of simultaneously taking darkness head-on, in some situations, while avoiding a cloud of chaos caused by tipping the scales too far in one direction. It's going to rub someone the wrong way as I progress but it's part of what keeps me balanced, out of suffering causing mayhem, and most importantly it helps keep me sober.
So, much like the Cape Crusader himself, I'll be out here trying to do the next right thing, even if it means getting my hands dirty in the process. That could be facing the consequences of past decisions, or possibly putting my own peace before someone elses feelings. This is something that needs to be done, in many cases, to make sure that you're own cup is full so you can pour into the cups of others around you.
Here's your weekly reminder to be self-aware. Your life can get dangerously off-balanced if you're not. I love all of you.
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