A Monster Calls
"A Monster Calls" by Andreu Zaragoza. This illustration, inspired by J.A. Bayona's film "A Monster Calls", was featured in Tentaciones magazine by Spanish periodical El País.
Your monster is calling...will you listen?
According to modern psychology, we tend to project onto others that which we are denying in ourselves. It is said that Lucifer was cast out of heaven because he caused a revolt against God. Perhaps it wasn't God that cast him out, we did. Our "shadow"---our past traumas, our darkest impulses---we don't approve of them. We hide these parts of ourselves because we believe that if people knew about our inner "monster", our darkness, we would be unlovable, rejected, and cast out of society. And so we took this shadow, our very own personal Lucifer, and threw him in a cage deep within our psyche.
But here's the irony: it is when we lock our demons away that they are able to slip through the bars and wreak havoc in our lives. And then we look at our finances, our relationships, our health, the news, politics, and society and scratch our heads wondering how in the hell (or more accurately "how in the psyche") did we get here?
You see, your monster is you---the child that was wounded, neglected, rejected, abused, or victimized all those years ago. He also represents the desires and impulses that someone once made you think were "dirty" or "wrong". There is nothing wrong with having desires and acting them out in a healthy way. It is by repressing them that they manifest in unhealthy ways.
Your shadow is not your enemy, she doesn't want to hurt you or others, she believes she is protecting you from further pain. All she wants is to be heard, validated, and acknowledged as valuable and worthy of love. When our shadow fears it will be rejected again, it lashes out. That is the pain body, and we have to heal it. So here's the key: you don't have to repress your shadow in order to be loved or accepted, and you don't need others to validate you, you had the power to do that all along. Your monster is your inner child reaching out to you for love, acceptance, and healing. He is your demon and your guardian angel. They are one and the same.
Don't be afraid to dig deep. The rewards are great if you do.
Love,
Caroline
** If you have not yet seen the film A Monster Calls, I highly, highly recommend.
