If something in reality stubbornly exists, it must be there for something. Without knowledge of the history of its appearance and the specific context in which it is organic, it can seem strange and alien. And, therefore, cause embarrassment, irritation, fear, or squeamishness. After reading these words, which person first comes to your mind?
But this is also true of our rich inner world. And there really is a lot to be found. For a person’s personality is not much like a statue from a single piece of marble. A better analogy is an oriental carpet, the ornament of which is woven from threads of different colors. But if in a carpet every thread has value, it is often not so with regard to our personality.
Some aspects of our personality are very attractive to us, we are proud of them, we recognize and love them, like a king loves his heir. But there are other aspects that hide in the corners, trying not to come to our attention. As history shows, every ruler has always had children who were begotten out of wedlock. It did not matter which of them was actually more talented and more like the mind and courage of the ruler-father. According to the conventions of society, the legitimate son received all the benefits of the throne, wealth, and universal respect. What was left for the bastard? That’s right, overthrow the legitimate authority to avenge perceived injustices and assert his right to be.
Almost everyone finds themselves either caught off guard by a “palace coup” or forced to suppress one “rebellion” after another on a regular basis. Such a struggle, in essence, with oneself, takes a lot of strength and makes us weaker against real enemies and dangers from outside.
The way out? We need to make friends with the negative self. Or, more precisely, with someone who only appears as such because of conventional norms we once internalized that are actually alien to us.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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