Through my African Eyes: Turning the Downside

10-13-2021

By Stephen Apollo

As human beings, we are so much tuned to speaking about our highlights and shouting out our successes. Just look at what people post on social media- engagements, weddings, exam successes, graduations, travels, parties, new rides, new shape, and anything that captures our joyous times. Conversely and rightly so, we rarely put to the fore our lowlights and we scarcely display our failures, shortcomings, addictions, defeats, losses, infidelity, and indeed anything that can show us in a negative way.

We all have flaws and shortcomings, some are explicit while others are our well-guarded secrets, or are they? You could have made weighty mistakes that make you think you top the list of doers of evil. You could have done grave errors that were too costly to others or even to your own self. Be that as it may, you are no worse and we are no better! We are all familiar with the downside, that dark side that we would rather it remain where it belongs - in the darkness. The bad news is; these downsides have a malignant effect. They slowly eat us up from the inside and they eventually start to adversely affect our significant relationships. They can also be so embarrassing because like a seed in the ground, they have a capacity to show up in the light and more often than not, when we do not expect them.

Needless to say, we are experts in ways of dealing with our highlights but oftentimes we struggle in dealing with our personal lowlights. We sometimes don’t know what to do with them. This is my current place; I am in a struggle with my own self. I need to confront some personal issues lying somewhere in a dark corner. I am sure I am not alone in this struggle. May we get the courage to confront our dark sides and the strength to attend to these areas in our lives that are lying restlessly on the rough bed of darkness.

Image by LIMAT MD ARIF from Pixabay