We can’t constantly look on the bright side and ignore the dark. Sometimes we have to really look at what’s going on to make a change.
I’ve often encountered spiritual teachings and books that tend to lean toward the idea that everything will be fine if you just focus on the positive.
To some degree, there is value in being positive. But I’ve also found that whatever gets swept under the rug will eventually fester and rot. So, as always, balance is key. I personally believe in the magic of life and synchronicities. I believe that favourable circumstances sometimes cross our paths in amazing ways. And I don’t advocate that people go into mental loops about what went wrong and how everything is someone else’s fault.
But I do think that it can be supremely irresponsible to ignore something that needs desperate attention.
Some examples of this can be: a health concern that you don’t want to confront because you prefer to “look on the bright side” of things; recurring feelings that tend to throw you off balance on a regular basis; recurring nightmares; addictive behaviours; or destructive coping mechanisms. These are all things to pay attention to.
Also, I’ve written extensively about toxic positivity because I believe it’s a bad idea to cover up difficult emotions with positive thinking. Letting an emotion dissolve and release is different than using some mental idea to shut it up. I’ve found it’s better to let your difficult emotions speak, even if you don’t really want to hear what they have to say. And if some difficult emotion does not want to shift, it’s better to be with it peacefully than to be at war with it.
In any case, looking at what’s under the rug requires courage and maturity. And as always self-awareness. There is something to be said for stepping into integrity and living in the light. There’s benefit to letting light shine on the dark. It’s hard but often worth it. It brings us more peace and inner stillness. More alignment and connectedness.
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