duplicity

I don’t know about you, but last week’s post really got me thinking.  It led me to the realization that all of us, to some degree, are duplicitous, with corners of our lives that don’t seem to fit the whole.

Generally patient people may find themselves yelling aloud in irritation at others while driving.

Encouraging people may wind up consistently assuming the worst where certain family members are concerned.

And otherwise kind people gossip about celebrities.

These areas would seem to be exceptions to the rule in many of our lives. And when someone points them out – or when we read something like last week’s post – we easily recognize that disparity in ourselves. For many, that is enough to prompt us to take steps in bringing that anomalous part of ourselves into harmony with the rest. It’s a process. But we are readily made aware of what’s wrong and where new choices need to be made.

However, those glaring anomalies aren’t what I want to talk about today. Rather, I want to talk about something much more insidious: a kind of duplicity that does not hide in shadows, but rather is adept at lurking in the light. And unless we commit to honing our skills of self-awareness, and then become ruthless in rooting it out, it will continue as an ever-present doppelganger, lingering about unnoticed – and siphoning happiness, fulfillment and peace from our lives.