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Blue World
- © Alex Klein, Photographer
Jung
defined the shadow as any part of ourselves
that we
disown and that remains unconscious,
including
aspects of oneself that may be socially acceptable.
Yet
confronting one's shadow is an integral piece of the forgiveness
journey.
Until one has explored one's shadow, one will
invariably perceive
certain
qualities of an offender as deplorable.
While those characteristics may indeed be abhorrent,
it
is equally true that somewhere in one's own shadow reside similar
attributes
of
which one has no conscious awareness.
Without access to such material, it is inevitable, indeed
necessary,
that
one will polarize oneself in relation to the offender --
a
perspective that renders any exploration of forgiveness virtually
impossible.
Only when one is capable of viewing the
despicable characteristics of an offender
then
asking oneself "Where do similar qualities reside in
me?"
that one can make significant strides in the journey
of forgiveness.
Carolyn Baker
Ph.D.
Excerpted from
When the Offender is Me?
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