Today I share with you my dark side, or as Jung would refer to it, the shadow.
It is important to understand that we all possess this nature and that is what makes us capable of power. This is why, I believe, it is necessary to live by principles to avoid being run by your inner “dark passenger” as Dexter might call it.
Everything in life must balance. We all carry an equal propensity for good, as well as evil. Failure to acknowledge this is quite perilous for the reason that suppression doesn’t end well. Quite the opposite in fact.
How can a man or woman be so capable of good while still carrying evil in their heart? The main difference between those who commit such egregious acts and those who do not, as those who study sociopaths will tell you, is the presence of compassion and empathy along with strong moral principles (choosing not to harm women or children, the innocent, etc). Qualities not displayed by those with the extreme forms of sociopathic behavior and/or tendencies.
While some might give you an impression that we are all meant to carry ourselves through life by way of solely virtuous means, I argue against such a position. When you are a competitor, in life, in work and in the ecosystem, there is a darkness that resides in you, capable of horrible things that might be useful should you have to protect your family from slaughter or hunt and stave off other predators.
Let us not forget, many of the most monumental events of history involved bloodshed and atrocities that gained independence from the British, won multiple World Wars and emancipated the slaves. Such conflicts demand victory at all costs. All out warfare of your mind and body against others, and may the best man win.
This cannot be achieved by the part of you that wants to stop and help every car on the side of the road or give money to a beggar. This comes from the darkness that keeps CEO’s up late at night, knowing that their family, their employees, their lifestyle depends on the damage they can inflict against their competitors in the market place. You can form your own opinion on what is good or bad, or moral but you cannot deny that it is so.
There must always remain a constant tension between good and evil. Without it you swing too far to either side of the spectrum where you end up enacting the most vile of deeds or are naive at best, only to be used up and swallowed by the world. That is, Mother Nature. Being feeble is no virtue, it is easy to be weak, it is hard to be strong, it is hard to fight and defend your city, your job, your title, over and over. Doing these jobs take someone with ice in their veins, who wills success into existence when the odds are against him.
These next verses are to acknowledge the part of us who goes to battle every day. The early morning alarms, the sixteen hour days, laboring in the hot sun, long commutes, waking up and retiring to gunshots and all of the hell that is interspersed with this heaven of a modern society, where drinking water is commonplace, food plentiful and technology encouraging us to grow weaker and less thoughtful by the day.
You killers out there slaving away for a better life for you and your loved ones, or just because is feels good to come home dog tired after an honest day of work, you have my undying respect. Cheers.
Breaker
I am a destroyer who takes pleasure in crushing the souls of men.
A bone breaker who gives no quarter, no mercy.
I am from the darkest and deepest depths intent on destruction.
I seek conquest and am determined to claim the wills of other men (and, with them, their civilizations and worlds).
Blood is what I desire. I callous my mind and spirit so that I may consume the souls of my enemy.
I am not intent on victory, I blaze a path so violent and reckless that Vlad the impaler would find only awe and admiration.
What fuels me is the weakness that lies beneath the skin of every man, knowing that unveiling it will bring down the most impressive and spectacular of beasts.
I am a necessary force, the natural order of things.
A tsunami sweeping a village, an earthquake splitting the ground for miles.
Without me, weakness would plague mankind. In my absence, the need for inner and outer strength would not exist.
My resolution is found through conflict. I wage war eternally. I was brought into this world to rule and die a valiant death… Worth a place in the greatest books of history.
No man, no army is a match for me. I am the three hundred Spartans, Gideon’s soldiers, no odds can prevail against my might.
I am supreme confidence that scatters an army in every direction.
I am the spirit that rests within, I am all capable.
Like an arrow who will either hit its mark or is shattered on the way, I will in no way desist unless my end is met.
And when it is… I will embrace it whole heartedly.
I am the desire to be the greatest there ever was: a flame that burns so intensely.. then, near the end of a lifetime becomes kindling, until it is finally exhausted.
I am the conqueror, the breaker of wills, consuming everything in its path… the kingdom torn down and then re-created, the new world found.
I am both discovery and legend – inspiring those who wish to dine in the thrones of Valhalla for millennia to come.
My flesh is a small price for that which I desire, my life but a commodity to trade.
I am a sea that swallows whole ships and crews, plunging them to their deepest darkest depths. Watching their last moments… knowing they are only of fear and terror.
But truthfully…
Are you not the same? Even the stormiest of seas are once calm.
If you are not a breaker, what are you?
cwh
The Lifelong Professional 