Navigating the dance of polarities
We are constantly moving between polarities in life, we are constantly dancing between opposing forces and energies.
Everything that exists has an opposite and can’t exist without it, it forms part of a whole; polarities co-exist with each other. Light can’t exist without dark, love without hate, consciousness without unconsciousness.
We live in a world of polarities, there is an opposite for everything and the polar ends are extremes of the same continuum; we have a choice in how we experience the wholeness of these continuums.
We may often find ourselves immersed in one polarity, one end of the continuum, consumed by the extreme for example of being ‘right’ or feeling angry, without bringing awareness to the opposing polarity or what lies in-between.
By being aware of and accepting and integrating all the parts, the opposing parts and the grey areas in between, we can start to move more fluidly along the continuum creating more harmony and balance within.
To remain in the perceived safety of one polarity can limit us and our growth, for example, we may accept that we are calm and reject anything that resembles being angry, our concept of our ‘self’ may not have room for this opposing part that may appear threatening.
Maybe we hold on to a childhood narrative that feeling anger is wrong or bad and so this polarity is somehow distorted or denied in some way.
By letting go of any narratives that no longer serve us, and allowing room for those authentic parts that we may have rejected, something different can begin to emerge in relationship with ourselves and others.
We are complex and often contradictory, we consist of many conflicting and yet complementary parts and forces, the more we are able to make genuine contact with one part, the opposite part can naturally and fully emerge into its authentic existence.
For example, we all embody both masculine and feminine energies and yet can become consumed by one or the other due to cultural norms and belief systems about ourselves and the world we live in. We may avoid making contact with the masculine or feminine energy for fear of it destroying something in life our identity feels attached to.
However, by looking at the opposite with curiosity and openness and seeing it as something that is to be awakened and nurtured, we can then begin to embrace the true wisdom of the inter-connecting feminine and masculine energies
There are so many polarities in life that we tend to split off rather than see them as interconnected parts of a whole that mutually influence each other.
Carl Jung said, “We all feel that the opposite of our own highest principle must be purely destructive, deadly and evil. We refuse to endow it with any positive life force; hence we avoid or fear it.”
By casting light upon and honouring those polarities we may fear, we can begin to dance between these points in harmony and with grace and in turn create a sense of balance and peace within.
