“If you strive only to avoid the darkness

 or to cling to the light, you cannot live in balance.

Try striving to be conscious of all that you are.”

-Gary Zukav

After reading this quote, those of us on an ardent spiritual path may think, “Well, of course I want to avoid the darkness and always live in the light. Isn’t that the whole purpose of successfully living a spiritually directed life?”

The answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. Of course, we want our choices, whether thoughts, words, or actions, to be made with the intention to bring more love into the world. That is our main purpose for coming here and the pathway that will lead us to the full evolution of our souls. However, this world has its overabundance of darkness that tends to permeate our lives from time to time. It’s hard to avoid itThe darkness and the light coexist in an endless matrix of love that cannot be severed. If one of us shuns the light and turns fully to the darkness, we all suffer.

We, each and every human soul that walks upon the earth, have a dual nature. We are both human as well as divine. We will always be tempted to cross over to the “dark side” now and then. This dark side may be by choosing to gossip about a person, thinking thoughts of hatred toward others or even wishing harm upon another. It can also be more overt, while actually taking action to hurt a fellow human or worse. Hopefully, most of the time we resist and the angel of light on our shoulder helps us stay grounded in compassion, forgiveness and love.

However, at times the temptation may be too great for our mortal human part to resist. Our emotions get the best of us, and the divine light of our nature falls fully in the background of our lives. We can no longer cling to the light, nor can we avoid the darkness. We fall headfirst into our shadow side and what usually follows is remorse and self-degradation. Does that give us a free pass to beat up and berate ourselves for being weak, abhor ourselves and perhaps vow never to forgive ourselves? It does not. During those times we are asked to forgive ourselves just as we are asked to forgive others. It is a huge part of the curriculum in this difficult school we call the earth plane. We can make restitution for what we’ve done and fully own our moment of darkness and return to the light.

There is also a greater reason for our need to accept both parts of our nature, both the light and the darkness. It is because our individual spiritual evolution is affected by the evolution of the one energy that connects us all. When we embrace that truth, we can understand and feel compassion and forgiveness for others who have fallen into darkness, be it individuals, groups of people, or even countries. When we are fully conscious and living both as a human being and as our soul, we can be the light in the darkness that will flow through that great matrix of love and help our fellow souls remember who they are. When we shine the love of our infinite soul here on the earth plane, we can light up the world so that perhaps it will see that there is a better way. That way, of course, is love. Yet if we cling to the light and avoid the darkness, we also avoid the opportunities to make a difference in our presently very troubled and divisive world.

When I think about our world, I envision the “dances” we do during the entire duration of our lives here on the earth plane. They always seem to be either a beautiful breathtaking, loving waltz or rough and tumble tango. Both dances are done to express love, but the latter expresses that love with sharp edges, forced movements and sometimes violence. What does this mean? Well for me it means that ultimately, we are eternally and infinitely love and our greatest reason for taking on, yet another earthly incarnation is to be that love. Somewhere in the recesses of our subconscious mind is that truth along with our desire to fulfill it. Unfortunately, real Divine love can sometimes become corrupted by divisive ideologies, judgement of others, or fear of those who are different from us.

The thing to remember is that we will all eventually grow and evolve into the true essence of who we were created to be. The earth school is a tough one, but it pushes us harder and faster than any other realm, planet, dimension, or universe. No one gets left behind. It will just take some longer to get where we all long to go … back to the loving arms of our Supernal Creator…. God.

Of course, we don’t want to ever choose the darkness over the light. Yet, the very nature of our existence here is that we are a spiritual being having a mortal experience and that makes us sometimes vulnerable to do just that. We all are spiritual partners on a common path. We need each other during those dark times in our lives. Let’s make a commitment to not simply be the light in the darkness but also look for opportunities to help others to remember their place of origin and the DNA that flows through their soul’s energy and blood in their veins. Helping others rather than judging them helps us all to reach our place of origin or birthplace sooner.

This place many of us call heaven, nirvana or the afterlife is not actually a place at all, but a level of consciousness more transcendent and radiant than anything we can envision here on earth. The rainbow skies breathe endless love, the rivers and oceans of every color and hue flow through the ethers carrying that love to infinity and beyond. The heart of the mountains and valleys pulse through our souls and lift us up to wherever we choose to go. Peace is our nourishment and contentment our reward. When we reach this miraculous space of ascended consciousness, we will be free to cling endlessly to the light for darkness will be no more.