Healing is a transformative experience that comes with heavy work. It requires looking at yourself on a much deeper level. It involves unpacking many things you have carried during this lifetime and sometimes many other lifetimes. It means looking at your deepest fears and accepting that your fears serve a purpose. This can feel overwhelming for many and often discouraging to some. Although you will face fear, anxiety, and depression, the outcome is much greater than the struggle. Part of the healing process requires you to face the things you don’t like about yourself and come to understand that the “ugly” things are necessary for your growth. These parts of ourselves are often referred to as our shadow side. In order to heal these parts of yourself, awareness and acceptance is the first step. You may be wondering, what’s is shadow side? Shadow side refers to the parts of ourselves that we hide from the world, traits of yourself that you think are unpleasant, or parts of your personality you don’t consciously recognize. For many people this means things like our sadness, anger, laziness, resentment and guilt. When you start to heal, you will find it easier to be kind, patient, loving, and compassionate with yourself and others. You understand that others have their own healing journey to embark and it’s solely their responsibility. You cannot force others to heal, each person is responsible for carrying this out. You understand that every person has their own healing journey to embark and you learn not to take things personally. You will start to recognize when others project their unresolved trauma, insecurities, and fears onto you. When you are aware of this, you become less reactive. You understand that healing is part of a bigger purpose. A purpose meant to help you grow spiritually and emotionally. Your pain serves as a way of opening you up. Pain forces us to change, so trust that the ugly parts lead you to the path to healing. “Without the dark, there isn’t light. Without the pain there is no relief.” -Jenny Lawson