(This is Part 20 of a series. Go back to Part 19.)
In this general discussion of pain, suffering, negativity—the shadow, the dragon in life—we've already discussed the essential duality of existence, and the fact that—as perceived by the rational mind—existence cannot appear otherwise than as dual in nature.
Thus we could say that the primary benefit of the shadow in existence is that existence couldn't exist without it. If we're going to eliminate "down" we're also going to have to eliminate "up", because the one cannot exist without the other.
If we're going to eliminate "night" we're going to have
to eliminate "day" as well, because they are born from a single phenomenon. If we're going to eliminate "darkness" we're also going to have to eliminate "light", because the latter cannot exist without the former.
Light cannot be seen unless it has darkness to give it a form. Light has no meaning except as a counterpoint to darkness. It cannot even be perceived if there is nothing contrasting with it.
Imagine this, if you will: If the universe were nothing but light, how would our senses perceive it? They couldn't. It is only through contrast that we can perceive anything. So if the universe were nothing but light we would perceive it as darkness, nothing, the background. And anything that contrasted with that light—that is, beacons of darkness—we would perceive as "lights in the darkness".
So the first benefit of darkness is that existence cannot exist without it. That's why if we talk about the ultimate light—the divine light, the infinite, the one—we have to call it a kind of light that goes beyond both light and darkness and includes both.
Just imagine if darkness did not exist in human life—no suffering, no pain, no negativity, no defeat. What would that be like?
First of all, there could be no human stories, because there would be no change. The protagonist would have nothing to overcome. He or she would not even be capable of growth, because there would be no challenging state of mind to come from.
What's true about drama is true of human life in general. Without the difficulties, the obstacles, the negativities in life we would be incapable of growth. And our capacity for growth is a fundamental part of what makes it such a rare and magnificent privilege to be a human being.
One of the interesting things to notice about growth is
that it can be done anywhere, in any situation at all. We can be in solitary confinement in a dark prison and grow in consciousness. We can be dying in the hospital and grow in compassion for self and others. We can use our defeats in life to grow in surrender and openness.
That potential for growth is key to the goodness revealed by the shadow in our lives. It is the basic alchemy of the transformation of the shadow into the light so intimately connected with it—into its "twin flame" so to speak.
(This is the end of Part 20. Go to Part 21.)
—jim sloman, 12.30.05
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