Before
Eyes full of idealism, innocence, determination
Mouth: innocent, soft
Face: young, unlined, sweet
After
Eyes haunted, staring, shell-shocked
Mouth: hard, cynical
Face: decades older, lined
And yet, a face can be thus transformed even without being recruited into external wars. Internal wars, left unresolved, do the same, a seemingly eternal “dark night of the soul.” Any addiction — to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, sex, lies, fundamentalism, etc. unless addressed, and fully processed (recognized as a shadow aspect of the self that gets projected) yields that face, sooner or later. And, at bottom, all wars are internal in origin. As we treat ourselves, so we treat another.
And to process a shadow aspect of the self, is ultimately, to recognize, and even exhibit, in full view of others, one’s vulnerability. This takes courage, an open heart.
Do you sense, as I do, that during this climactic era when so many regions of our world are either lit up with monstrous wars, or seemingly about to be, with nuclear war the ultimate dragon breathing down upon our collective neck; do you get the sense, as I do, that the human race is finally coming to recognize that it simply must begin to understand, and heal, the root causes of war — the root causes of unrecognized, unresolved conflict at every level — in order to avoid extinction?
If enough of us do our own shadow work, leaving us changed, vulnerable, no longer so dead certain of our own point of view — then not only do we avoid extinction, but we serve as way showers of a new culture.
