My students often ask me about the concept of “Evil” as a force, a tangible entity--a “thing” we must resist and/or overcome. This is what I tell them…
It is said, by so many, that we were created “in the image” of The Creator. If this is so--and, for the record, I personally believe it is--then, we should be in perfect balance, right? After all, Spirit is, in every single way, we believe, perfectly in balance--Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, Masculine and Feminine aspects, Shadow and Light, etc. Thus, in aggregate, everything in creation must be, and is, in perfect balance, too. Makes sense, right?
The key point here, however, is the phrase: “in aggregate.”
We all know that days and nights, seasons, tides, and many, many “natural” events occur on a regular and predictable timetable… there has never, ever, for instance, been an occasion where day has not followed night, or leaves have simply not changed color, according to their nature, all over the world come the season of Fall. It may sometimes “seem” that we “didn’t get a Fall this year” because of weather issues and the like, but the fact remains that the seasons always do cycle--it is the Natural Order as is, according to our belief, ordained by Spirit. These things are on “auto pilot” as-it-were and cannot be changed, tampered with, or in any way re-set by human hand. Day will always follow night and so on--it is just so.
But what about the things that are not in balance (and, boy do there ever seem to be plenty of those!)? What about things that can be influenced or altered by humans? Why are so many (if not all) of them so woefully unbalanced? Some people seem to be truly wicked, where others truly kind. There are those who are tormented by what I call their “shadow” side, while others seem to positively exude light, engaging in very little in the way of shadow struggles. The answer, of course, is that In Aggregate it all balances out.
Hmm… This is all very well, unless of course you are a victim of somebody else’s shadow side! My father always used to say, “two wrongs do not make a right”--it was practically a mantra with him! But I have come to understand the wisdom in these words in the broad sense that they really deserve in the years since my father died…
The simple view is, for instance, that only an act of kindness can balance an act of cruelty. Only an effort of personal will can counterbalance an effort of personal weakness and so on. But, the broader view, is that Shadow is all around us--in behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts--from each and every spirit incarnate on earth. This means, that we ourselves, no matter how much or how little we engage or indulge our own personal Shadow, are impacted by the Aggregate Shadow of all other beings on earth. But, what does this mean? It means that, to achieve personal balance, we must strive toward living in our own Light--and we must do this in the face of tremendous Shadow--and this makes it seem like a one-sided struggle most of the time.
On the flip side, it is also true, of course, that the Aggregate Light of Humanity surrounds us, too--but, there are plenty of people working to balance that out, I can assure you! The Light is much harder to see at times, (because it seldom feels as good as bad can feel, hence the “Three-fold Law, but that’s a discussion for another time) but, none-the-less, it is always there. It also means that we can trust that no matter how bad things get, Light will balance it out somewhere, somehow--if not for us in this life, then for someone else, some time. This negates, then, the need for vengeance, retribution, or “an eye for an eye”--after all, the balance happens, no matter what. Now, (and, here’s a biggie, so sit down)… It also negates the need for miracles, Divine Intervention, or so-called, “acts of God.”
But, why?
Because Creation was the act of Spirit, that’s why! Spirit created everything to come into and be in balance. It is impossible for any act of Shadow or Light to go “unpunished!”
O.K., O.K., I can hear you now… “so, what you're saying is, that if I’m kind, someone, somewhere is going to be an asshole, right?!” Well, yes, if you assign the “chicken and egg” theory to current existence, I suppose it does. However, no one living will likely ever know if the first humans were created “totally balanced,” but it’s a fair bet that they were (given the track record of Spirit), and that someone, somewhere along the line, (free will being what it is) chose to do something Shadow… and I’m betting, it was probably a whopper! Or else, several someone’s got in on the act (started a war over food or something)... and the need for balance (in the form of acts of Light) was born.
All you have to do, to prove this theory, is cast your mind to the kind of thinking that goes, “if a kid in the playground hits you, haul off and hit the kid right back--twice as hard!” I could sit here and give you example after example of human beings exacting unbalanced punishment, revenge, justice, pay-back--call it what you will--on actual or perceived wrong-doers, but the point is, all this heavy handed Shadow behavior creates imbalance and imbalance is what we are here to correct and, most importantly, learn from.
I hear you again… “Wait a minute, are you saying that the world is unbalanced now? Then, there was a mistake in its creation, surely?” Good question. And, as usual, there are no simple answers, but I’ll give it my best…
If you take the sum total of human existence, we may well be “out of balance” at any given moment. But, what is the “sum total of human existence?” Is it, all the people living on earth right now? Or, does it count all the people that have lived on earth? What about all the people who will live on earth? O.K., forget “live on earth” completely, what about “live anywhere?” (Be it, Heaven, the Spirit Realm, call it what you will, if indeed, you believe in such a place.) The point is, if we believe that Spirit created Balance and intended for Balance to be so--no matter what--it also means that we must believe that either, a). We are in Balance now, or b.) There is life after death/before birth and this makes up the Aggregate that achieves total Balance in the Universe.
Ohhhhh… so (yeah, you’re with me)… This means, that Spirit (call it Heaven, if you want) contains the sum total of Light that balances the sum total of Shadow present on earth at any given time?
Exactly! And this means that Heaven also contains some Shadow… right? Oh. No, wait... Does it??
Of course. But, this is where we need to understand that Shadow isn’t always and by definition, a “bad” thing. Shadow, like Light, is simply a “thing.” Nothing personal. And, everything personal. (I know, here I go again…) O.K., it isn’t personal as far as The Creator is concerned but, as far as we are concerned, it is always personal. Our personal responsibility. Our personal will. Our personal goal. Our personal Shadow. Our personal Light. In short, everything that is personal to us--so, take it very personally! Live in your Light. Challenge your Shadow. Strive for Personal Balance. If it helps, think of it this way: Every act of Light, atones for an act of Shadow; when I bring the gift of Light to the world, somewhere, somehow, I strip Shadow of some of its darkness.
So, there you have it!
Let there be Light,
Winnie
