Damn it all to hell.
Do I have your attention?
Regardless of the date that you are reading this, the actual date of the composition is the second day of February, one of my very favorite if barely noticeable holidays at the societal level. This is Groundhogs Day, and I am delighted to share with you that even before the rising of the morning sun, I had seen my shadow. Spring is surely on its way.
As much as I relish the symbology of this date, I still have to stop and consciously decipher what the seeing of the shadow actually indicates. I sometimes mistakenly perceive that if the furry little guy comes out from his borough and see’s his shadow, it means that winter is long to be experienced. I believe the correct interpretation is that the seeing of the shadow results in six more weeks of winter, which from the northern perspective, would be a welcomed early spring. Mid-March surely beats a snow-laden April. Irrespective of the particulars, it is the underlying meaning that so captivates my sense of emergence, and makes the wondrous little groundhog such a compelling teacher.
As much as most of us long to experience the Light, the ensuing revelation of all that is hidden in darkness is a less than welcomed process. We are most of us groundhogs who have been long boroughed in the depths of our unconscious suppression. When we begin to awaken to the Truth of our Being, we begin the often painful process of coming up and out of that suppression to face what we have so long denied. We are each required to face the shadow aspects of our consciousness as a necessary part of becoming experientially the Light we always already are. When we begin to see and to feel the depths of our shadow selves, the springtime of our awakening is truly in process. When we have the capability to face and to stay with those shadow aspects, we are developing the maturity to actually expand into greater levels of awareness and of choice. It requires a certain level of Light to actually see the shadow, and so when we experience it, it is in Truth a cause for celebration. And yet most of us react to it with a despairing “damn it all to hell,” and a running back into the hole of suppression. I am sure you knew I would get back to that opening declaration.
While you may never have uttered that combination of words, I am betting you have had the experience. As aspirants of Truth, we love images of Light-filled realities and easily manifested desires. We love speaking affirmations of Truth, yet bristle against the darkness that ensues as a necessary part of becoming the Word. In order to create a new reality, we must face the suppressed core beliefs that have created the current one. We must come out of the hole of spiritual denial, and look upon what has been festering below the surface. We must face the deadening lies we tell ourselves, and deeply feel the emotional imprinting that has given rise to all of those lies. When we see and feel the depth of the pain that has been buried below our constant mental busyness, the Light of Becoming is well on its way. The blossoming forth of our Soulful springtime is coming forth out of the winter of our unconsciousness and suppression. It is when we re-suppress what is arising, judging it and shoving it back down, that we literally dam the emotional flow. This damming results in the hell of emotional heat, thus making my grandma’s old saying an embodied reality. The seeing of the shadow is the experiencing of the Light. When we choose to stay and to face it, a quantum leap in consciousness is possible. When we turn and run into some addictive reaction that deadens, the winter of barely submerged discontent returns. In the ultimate sense it truly is okay. The groundhog of our shadow self will certainly return again. It will keep returning until we face what it is it is pointing to.
And so I share and I celebrate with you dear readers that I have seen my shadow this day. I have experienced a deeper level of long hidden emotional imprinting, an unveiling that I now welcome and allow. I no longer believe the story of me, yet I face its reflection whenever and wherever it arises. I have come to love my little groundhog, which is all he was ever asking for anyway. Around and beneath my shadow I am witnessing the Light, and so I faithfully face whatever I need to see. I have no need any longer to dam anything, and so I no longer dwell in the hell of self-resistance. I have seen my shadow, my friends, and I have found that in my non-resistance, spring is here and now.
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