Movies are amazing reflections of the conflict within, among many other things they provide us. Take for instance the dance of light and darkness in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. My favorite character to ponder on is Gollum. Remember that scene where part of him wants to truly assist Frodo for the good (his light) and then he succumbs to his darkness. He is so frightened by it. He doesn't embrace it. He knows it's not his truth - he has shame and anger of his quest for The One Ring and he MUST have it.
Frodo too struggles with his dark and light. We can talk at length about that journey in all three films but let's just say (in summary) that Frodo fights his dark thoughts with courage. What gives him courage? Standing in his truth. Knowing his consciousness is pure and sheds light on the right path - for him. That is key - for him! Remember - we all do our part. I mind my business and do my part. When each of us do that - we unite is great power that benefits all.
Please comment and share your perspectives on what you learnt from Frodo and Gollum.
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I've always felt compassionate for Gollum, as well as repulsion. I know that we all have a dark side and that I too am capable of terrible acts.
ReplyDeleteJust tonight I lost patience with the woman I will marry in one week and spoke... unlovingly.
I'm reminded of this poem by Thich Nhat Hanh:
I have a poem for you. This poem is about three of us.
The first is a twelve-year-old girl, one of the boat
people crossing the Gulf of Siam. She was raped by a
sea pirate, and after that she threw herself into the
sea. The second person is the sea pirate, who was born
in a remote village in Thailand. And the third person
is me. I was very angry, of course. But I could not take
sides against the sea pirate. If I could have, it would
have been easier, but I couldn't. I realized that if I
had been born in his village and had lived a similar life
- economic, educational, and so on - it is likely that I
would now be that sea pirate. So it is not easy to take
sides. Out of suffering, I wrote this poem. It is called
"Please Call Me by My True Names," because I have many names,
and when you call me by any of them, I have to say, "Yes."
Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Without darkness there is no light. To deny the darkness of human nature is to live in the naivite of those you chose not to receive the gifts available to us when we, as mortal man, transit our "dark night of the soul."
ReplyDeleteTo sit with the profound Buddha knowledge that "there is suffering in life," is to honor the moment we live in, not struggling to change it, but to embrace it for the gifts our nature is imploring us to listen to, accept and use.
Life is filled with difficulty and accepting fact is the first step to moving beyond difficulty. For me, this is a reality I can not deny. My life has, at many times, been filled with sadness, lack of hope, despair, and depression.
To know that these realities are illusions is a difficult learning for me to fully comprehend. By fully knowing and experiencing these places of sorrow, then can I begin to move through them.
My truth tells me that darkness exists. With courage I honor this truth.