The Light: The Harsh Taskmaster

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Just to clarify, this is about the nature of light itself, not the aspect.

I realize that some people fear the dark. I certainly did as a child and used a night light. My children now do the same. They too fear the dark. Then I realized that darkness can hide a multitude of sins, of skeletons in the closet as it were. I could take all the negative garbage I've carried around with me and shove into a dark corner and never do anything because there's no light so it doesn't claim my attention.

Then there is the shadow. I've been told that to be a well integrated person spiritually, I need to make friends with my shadow self. We've met and sat down together. I learned that I could just step behind my shadow to be invisible. I then had a reason not to act. I could just lurk and let others do the heavy work and lifting for me.

Now, light illuminates the shadows, causing them to retreat. It casts out the darkness, bringing all the detritus and baggage into view. If the emperor has no clothes, light makes that manifestly clear. You can't hide your nakedness, vulnerability, good qualities or failings. The light can make them all too brutally clear. It forces us to see what's actually there -- all of it. The good, bad and the ugly. And it's all ours. We can't cocoon ourselves in velvety darkness and make things look better than they are. There is nowhere to hide in the light.

Light can pierce our most cherished self illusions and grandeur, our posturing and pride. It can show the outlines of what we choose to veil to ourselves and call reality. It can be merciless. There are times in our lives and in our spiritual journeys that we are compelled to face the truth of ourselves, our world, and our place in it. Right now is one of those times for me. It has been a most unpleasant and difficult tasks. I haven't liked what I've seen. But it's all in the open now, demanding my acknowledgement, full attention, and clamors for resolution.

That's one of the biggest challenges of walking in the light. Your on display for all to see. Every motive, word, deed, and action are up for scrutiny and judgment by others. Every failure, big or small, comes into sharp relief. It is one of the hardest paths to tread, because it's so very easy to fall down, to fall from grace, from the approval to the approbations of others. There is no where to hide, even from oneself. It is a hard choice to decide to walk in the light. It takes courage, determination and a recognition that nothing you say or do is ever entirely your own. Others will have their say too. What's more, the path is not only for yourself, it demands that you spend what you learn and practice on behalf of others. The light is a terrible taskmaster at times, a very demanding and humbling one.

This is not a path for the faint of heart. It is a path I have to recommit myself to each and everyday. As Alfred told Bruce Wayne, "If you fall down seven times, get up eight." I've fallen. Now I'm going to dust myself off, get up and do it again. I will fall again; I will fail and my faults will be made manifest. I will rise again, recommit myself to the journey, and keep on going. Will you join me?

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