A letter to my shadows

Dear Shadows,

I know you have been with me for a long time, and yet I have tried to ignore you, hide you, or even deny your existence. I have labeled you as "flaws" and "deficiencies", trying to bury you under layers of achievements, masks, and fear. But the truth is, you have never left me. You have waited in silence, sometimes whispering, sometimes screaming, and I now realize that you have always had something to teach me.

You are not my enemies, even though it has often felt that way. You are parts of me, parts that I have not always wanted to acknowledge, parts that I have been ashamed or afraid of. But you are as much me as my strengths, my joy, and my love. You are the parts that carry the pain I have not dared to feel, the fear I have not dared to face, and the anger I have not allowed myself to express.

I understand now that you are not here to ruin me. You are here to help me see what I would otherwise miss. You reflect my fears, my insecurities, and my deepest wounds. I now see how you have often guided me to judge others and point outward at exactly what I have tried to avoid seeing in myself. Your whispers have sometimes made me protect what feels uncomfortable by placing blame on someone else, but I now realize that you were only reflecting my own inner conflicts. But you also reflect my potential, my strength, and my willingness to grow. You show me where I am holding onto what no longer serves me, and you push me to let it go.

I know it is time to stop running from you. Instead, I want to face you with openness and curiosity. I want to listen to your whispers, explore your depths, and learn from you. I realize that by confronting you, I can become whole, that by embracing you, I can learn to fully embrace myself.

Thank you for your patience and persistence. Thank you for standing by, even when I tried to suppress you. Thank you for being brave enough to show me what I least wanted to see. You are not just shadows, you are also my guides to the light.

From now on, I no longer want to fight or ignore you. I want to get to know you, understand you, and eventually integrate you. You are a part of my journey, and I am ready to take the steps together with you.

With acceptance and growing courage,

Mike