Finding Your Shadow - Shining Your Light

I know it is a funny sounding title, but the more I thought about this concept, the more it made sense. I just finished listening to a video cast from Brian Johnson, creator of Philosopher's Notes, and it made me think about my own personal "dark side".

Now, he talked about it based on a book called, "Dark Side of the Light Chasers" by Debbie Ford. In his video cast Brian said that it is important to own all parts of yourself, even those parts that you don't like. Ultimately, being whole is not about being perfect, it is about loving all aspects of yourself.

So, this got me thinking about my close look at being intolerant and how that could also be a great strength for me in some situations. It was a practice in integrating a 'dark' part of myself, without even knowing it! Cool.

That got me to look at what else frustrates me about others sometimes. Impatient people came to mind. I think of myself as an extremely patient person. Almost too patient.

A-HA! That's it. Why am I so patient? What if I wasn't? What is good about NOT being patient? Again, doing this switch-a-roo has got me to look at the strengths of a trait I do not like. Interestingly enough, I am least patient with myself.

A-HA! Again. So, what if I was more patient with myself (yes, practicing self-care, nurturing time for me, self-forgiveness etc.) and less patient with others? There could actually be positive effects. Wow. It is mindblowing.

I am going to try it.

Because ultimately, what Brian reminded me of was something very important:

We see in others what we see in ourselves. If we see weakness, impatience, intolerance, we see the shadow. However, we can also see creativity, resourcefulness, tolerance, patience, and love. We can shine our own light.

My conclusion: I can't find my shadow if I am not shining my light. You can't have one without the other. Again, it is not about perfection - it is about WHOLENESS.

What keeps you from being whole?