This year has been a year of significant change.
Events have shaken and stirred us out of our comfortable routines.
They’ve dusted off the cobwebs and tested our fortitude.
Parts of ourselves once repressed, lurking in the shadows, have been brought to light.
We’ve now been exposed to that side that we never wanted to admit to having.
But yet, some will still deny it, resist it, and eventually project it onto others.
These projections harm the individual and prohibit growth by thickening the veil of illusion between the ego and the real world.
What are these projections?
They’re those qualities and impulses we deny within ourselves but can so easily and plainly see in others – things such as (but not limited to) egotism, laziness, sloppiness, schemes, plots, cowardice, greed, envy, and pride.
That’s not us, though.
We know the more we resist the shadow the blacker and denser it becomes.
We know that if we don’t face our shadows, we’ll continue to see them in others – after all, the world outside is only a reflection of the world inside.
So, what do we do?
We turn inward, acknowledge and accept this part of us, and face it.
Here, the struggle becomes to maintain awareness of the shadow but to not identify with it.
“The rewards are profound. Shadow-work enables us to alter our self-sabotaging behavior so that we can achieve a more self-directed life.” Connie Zweig