Becoming a Heroic Whole Person

At the climax to the book Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, the main character Ged has confronted and accepted his darker self. He emerges fully integrated and free. This part of the book serves as a powerful reminder that we must be whole beings. When we deny the parts of ourselves we do not like, we commit a violence against ourselves. We can’t run away from who we are; we cannot live in denial about the things of which we are ashamed. We must accept these facets of our being and have forgiveness for ourselves. After all, we are human, but in our courage to meet and accept ourselves, we become heroes. The journey for freedom begins inside our own hearts.

As I watched the world during Covid and before that with the election of Trump and the vitriol that followed on social media and the national media, I had to come to a reckoning with myself and my beliefs about our society. I watched as words were twisted, freedoms taken away, privacy violated over and over again, and people targeted in online mob attacks. All around me people screamed out their self-righteous ego assertions. Our society had literally split into two with each side viewing the other as the darker half.

When we target the "other," we bypass the spiritual work that we are called to do. God needs us to be his warriors. Not warriors that hate and blame others. Not warriors who shutout and shutdown the people with whom we disagree. In fact, Jesus would have us bring these folks closer. God wants warriors who have wrestled with the darkness in their hearts and healed, so that the dark powers of this world can no longer get a foothold. I believe that healed people heal others just by being in their presence. Interacting with someone who has done the work and come out the other side as a more compassionate and loving person is healing. We need more healed and integrated people in the world.

This is not to say that there are not demons and entities of darkness in this world. There are. We live in a universe that has been infected by beings that exist without the light of God. However, most human beings still have the light of God within them. We just need to help that light grow through love, mercy, grace, and compassion. And this also allows the light to grow within us.