Suppressing authentic needs is a huge hole within our wholesomeness. Traditionally, we have been taught that goodness means self-sacrifice, living for others, suppressing our needs to accommodate those of others around us and forgiving everyone who hurt you whether they repent or not. In short, we have made excellent arrangements for our own depletion of energy and destruction of our self-image.
Kindness, in this connection, is
NOT what I just described. Everything begins with the self and then extends
outwards. It is that part of goodness which ought to start with kindness to the
self-first. If your inner self is under the agony of suppression, denial and
conflict, how do you even BEGIN to get enough energy to be what society
selfishly demands from you?
That inner self, your suffering
shadow self of which even you are in partial denial, must be brought into your
conscious awareness so that you can heal it and integrate it with your true
self. Only then can you become wholesome. And then you can extend yourself
outwards and help others find themselves.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/
