Of Angels and Demons
It begins as a righteous, seductive angel whispering truths. We believe we know what is right for all. We believe we hold the greatest knowledge. We believe we are authorized to choose for others what we are and are not comfortable with them having. We believe that our cause is so right that any effective methods we find for executing our plans is justified. We listen so constantly to our instructing angel that we will not stop to listen to anything else, or even stop to think about what it tells us. If we are lucky, someday we finally stop and listen for a moment, think, and look at the angel that has guided us for too long.
In time, the angel is stripped of its beauty, revealed a demon all along. The demon terrifies us, and for a time rules us yet, for it is still seductive, but now also coercive. As we begin to resent its power over us, we rebel, push back, fight the demon, and even attempt to banish it outright. This denial never works, for the demon is resident within us and cannot simply be ignored. It continues to whisper seductive lies, intimidating threats, attempting and all too often succeeding to control us.
The problem that stymies us all is that the transformation isn't in realizing that the illusory angel was in fact a demon, and rebelling against its false righteousness. The transformation is in really seeing the demon for what it is and understanding why it thinks it's right. A demon is only telling the truth it knows. It is a demon because the only truth it knows is lies. The transformation is in comprehending the demon, and in doing so, finding compassion for the deep fear it represents. The transformation is in forgiving the demon for its deeply mistaken views, and thanking it for trying to help. The transformation is in releasing the demon from its false ideals and fears, grounding it in compassion, and allowing it to become the angel it always meant to be.
--Ember--
In time, the angel is stripped of its beauty, revealed a demon all along. The demon terrifies us, and for a time rules us yet, for it is still seductive, but now also coercive. As we begin to resent its power over us, we rebel, push back, fight the demon, and even attempt to banish it outright. This denial never works, for the demon is resident within us and cannot simply be ignored. It continues to whisper seductive lies, intimidating threats, attempting and all too often succeeding to control us.
The problem that stymies us all is that the transformation isn't in realizing that the illusory angel was in fact a demon, and rebelling against its false righteousness. The transformation is in really seeing the demon for what it is and understanding why it thinks it's right. A demon is only telling the truth it knows. It is a demon because the only truth it knows is lies. The transformation is in comprehending the demon, and in doing so, finding compassion for the deep fear it represents. The transformation is in forgiving the demon for its deeply mistaken views, and thanking it for trying to help. The transformation is in releasing the demon from its false ideals and fears, grounding it in compassion, and allowing it to become the angel it always meant to be.
--Ember--