We are made of light and darkness. Angels and demons coexist within us…
In my work, I see the reality of this every single day. As Jesus put it, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We seem to want something, yet we do something else. Not quite the opposite -although sometimes we do it- but clearly not what we tell, even to ourselves, that we want.
Therapists, since Freud, are trained to look for the subconscious or unconscious motives. Not only what we consciously say we want, but what our words and actions betray we really want. Examples abound, we want to lose weight, yet we eat that extra donut; we truly love our partner, yet we betray him/her (in minor or major ways), we want a new job and we self-sabotage by procrastinating updating our resume…
Ever been there?
Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, facing a divided nature (rings any bells?) called upon the better angels of our nature. There is much wisdom in it. The epic battle between good and evil is fought every day by a multitude of heroes and heroines all over the world. We are all Buddhas, Jesus, and Mohameds
, facing demonic temptations and doubts within. We fight them in therapy rooms and in the workplace, we fight it on our way to work and when dealing with our children… As John Watson put it, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Let’s not judge ourselves for being less than perfect. Let us honor the hero/ine’s
efforts to prevail in this impossible struggle. Moreover, let us honor not only the “good” ones (our better angels) but also our demons. They too have a story to tell. If instead of fighting them, we put down the weapons that divide us and, even for a moment -internally and externally, as human beings, political parties or countries- we may realize that there is another way, a middle way. Not the path of the warrior but that of the peacemaker. Perhaps in ending the inner fight, we may, one day, be able to end the outer division.
But then again, what do I know…
