Poem: "Learning to Cha-Cha"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is today's freebie, prompted by redsixwing. It also fills the "self-awareness" square of my 9-1-18 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo Fest.


"Learning to Cha-Cha"


The shadow self
is not the enemy.

It is the back to the front,
the foot to the head.

Only by knowing it
can you fully know yourself.

To know the Shadow,
you must step into the darkness.

It's there, waiting,
for you to discover.

You won't agree on much,
but that's okay.

This doesn't have to be
a tug-of-war.

Lean into the darkness
and learn to dance.

The Shadow will
take you by the hand.

You'll go back and forth,
dancing to a wild rhythm.

Two steps forward,
one step back.

Before you know it,
you're learning to cha-cha.

Once you embrace your Shadow,
you'll always have someone to lean on.

* * *

Notes:

The Shadow is a Jungian archetype. Shadow work requires embracing the dark side of yourself. You can find a therapist to help you. If you prefer the self-help approach, there are journal prompts, worksheets, and art therapy exercises. However, the best I've found -- and the only one that's a tremendous amount of fun -- is the roleplaying game Dead Inside. Your Shadow is half your character. You do the math.

Comments

[redsixwing]

*wild applause* Lovely!

...and off to check out that roleplaying game.

[thnidu]

Your link The Shadow opens up looking like a regular web page with title, header art, and text, but as soon as you scroll down, or maybe even before that, it turns into a video for a game/program/whatever, another self-help guide for meeting your Shadow.