It’s like a parent
rejecting an unwanted child, shaping a petty, incompatible
personality. But hiding this child takes immense energy,
manifesting as fear, anxiety, and inner tension.
The trace of the shadow appears in involuntary reactions.
Whenever there’s sudden anger, anxiety, sweating,
uncontrollable excitement, feelings of inferiority, or hatred, we’re
likely hiding a part of ourselves. If someone criticizes us and we
become overly angry, we’re uncovering a shadow. Another
shadow game is projection, when we irrationally dislike someone,
we’ve likely projected one of our own traits onto them.
The unconscious plays all these games to push us to discover our
true selves. We have no choice but to embrace this unwanted
child and accept and love it.
There is one thing we must understand here and forever: Pure
positivity, absolute goodness, and the ideal human don’t exist.
We must accept our flaws, or they will pull us in, leading to
depression and a sense of failure.
Shadow, the first lost piece
The shadow is our dark, repressed side—the traits we deny or ignore, the undeveloped parts of ourselves.
