Did Starving it Create The Monster?

Monday Wild and Wonderous Prompt: Write about the chiaroscuro of your subconscious(chiaroscuro is an Italian term which refers to strong contrasts between light & dark).

We have all heard different versions of the parable where each of us has two creatures inside us. One is light and good while the other is dark and evil. They battle constantly to control us the parables say. The end of the parable explains the one we feed is the one that wins.

I have thought off and on about this parable as it relates to me. I would like to think I feed the creature of light much more than the creature of dark. I wish to talk about a particular situation where starving the dark creature may have let him win. I used to believe if I fed the creature of the dark I might turn into my father. I have resolved those issues but likely way too late to be the father I believe I could have been. Way too much of my life I believed if I did become my father I would be a father like my dad and his dad. I starved that creature so it couldn’t happen.

I wonder if I had tried to nourish it carefully would I have found out I would not have been that type of father figure? I certainly was not that type of a person as a teacher. The creature of light was fed to have that happen. After introspection and what I have come to understand in the last couple of years is if the starvation approach is misguided. Don’t we create a monster by starving a creature? Think about how dangerous a starving creature is out in the wild. A lion fed and left to itself may not attack. Wild creatures attack when hungry, frightened, or cornered. A starving lion will attack and kill to survive.

If we regarded the dark creature within us as a feral dog, what would happen? A feral dog will growl, it will defend itself, it will back off, and will not approach or take food from someone. If cornered it may even attack because it is scared and afraid of being hurt. Sound familiar? If we feed it and very slowly gain its confidence, letting it take the first moves it will eventually learn not to fear us. We too get more comfortable and relaxed around it. Eventually, there can be a bond of trust and a partnership. We find the feral dog is not a monster, it just needed to be nourished and cared for carefully to reach its potential.

Is it possible the creature of dark inside you which you have been trying to starve out of existence is not as dark as you thought? Is it possible you created a monster out of a scared misunderstood feral trait of yours that just needed some careful nurturing so it didn’t become the monster you fear to feed?

Author Note: I am starting a well needed vacation and some adventures. I will not be as active reading and even writing as I have been. I am sorry ahead that I will miss many amazing articles but I will pop in when I can.

Peace be with you