“What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all within me; and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I, myself, am the enemy who must be loved — what then?”
— Carl Jung
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What then, indeed?
So we find ourselves in the season of goodwill and good cheer.
For us in the northern hemisphere, it’s the darkest time of year and we're in need of a little light. When the light from the sun is small, the light from our hearts has to replace it.
How about beginning with some goodwill directed back at yourself?
How about some self-kindness and self-compassion?
How about some celebration for who you are and what you’ve done, not OTT criticism for where you’ve fallen short, for who you think you should be?
So many of us exist in a more or less constant state of self-judgement and comparison, evaluating the quality of our souls according to some vaguely and mostly unconsciously held set of requirements of perfection.
There’s no ease in our own skin. There’s no kindness, no understanding for the journey, no appreciation for how far we’ve come.
And we’ve been doing it our entire lives.
Here’s a chance to see the grip of these requirements for the violence that it is – the judgement that “I’m not good enough”; that “I need to be different” ... before ... before what?
You are perfect exactly as you are.
Settling into that sense of being, with nothing to prove and nothing to hide, is the most peaceful state you will ever find.
Nothing to attain, nothing to get – just a laying down of the never ending arms race of trying so hard to be different.
Stop trying to become, stop trying to fix yourself, and just be; even just for this moment.
Stop.
Here you are. Here is Life. Here is Everything.
From here you will become, you will transform, you will be better, but it’s through letting go of what you think you need and letting a greater wisdom give you what you need.
Think of this less like struggling up a mountain to an ideal ego self and more like soaking in a bath where the expectations and self-violence and mud of history are dissolved; where You are revealed.
It all happens here, now.
Let it all go. Be naked and innocent as the day you were born; slip into the bath.
Free of demands, of shoulds, you can really fly.
Free, you can have ideals and higher standards, but you hold them so lightly, as inspiration and not a whip.
Spread the light.
Be kind to yourself, be kind to everyone. Love yourself exactly as you are; love them exactly as they are.
Have a spectacular Christmas, holidays and celebrations.
Remember.
Go well, with love,
Arjuna