The Dark Side

I am constantly inspired by the relentless imperative of the human spirit to survive the destructive web of half-truths, could-be-truths, and downright lies that the human mind insists on fabricating in an attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible. I am also amazed at how one person overcoming one such tangle of deceit impacts an entire room.

Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday morning, Public Coaching Course – one person was sharing about being intimidated by being observed. The following unfolded. At a young age this person, after expressing irritation, was told by a foster parent to feel lucky not to be in an orphanage. Having already survived
more displacement than most, this person shut down to anything that might look like irritation, unhappiness, weakness, etc. … anything that might look like a ‘dark side’ – a reason to be cast out (yet again). So this naturally loving child lived in perpetual fear of being seen in entirety. Through tears and sobs, the story unfolded, and truths were told – truths that are self-evident to a mature adult. Peace was made, as well as a reconnection and a commitment to that innocent being that was fundamentally abandoned by an immature mind in fear of not surviving.

While this person was excavating this old emotional wound, it seems the rest of the participants and the people on team, while not having experienced the exact same circumstances, nevertheless felt their own tears and sobs, simultaneously excavating  their own shut-down of their dark side and their own abandonment of their innocence. That person’s healing became their healing.

We human beings are so much more connected than our reactive minds would lead us to believe.  Telling the truth not only sets us free, it sets others free as well.

More to come on the Dark Side.

 PS I have permission from the teller of the story to share the above.