I am fascinated by blind spots.  Not the physical inability to see something, but the psychological unconsciousness that holds hostage our shadow sides — the aspects of ourselves we find antithetical to who we consider ourselves to be or how want to be regarded.  This pocket of denial is a very curious thing to me. 

We all have blinds spots, not only about ourselves, but also about the people we love, the tribes with whom we align, and the ways in which we perceive the world around us.  For all of the amazing capabilities our beautiful minds have, how is it that there are things we simply cannot see or won’t accept?  Why do we block or suppress certain parts? 

Have you ever met a bright scholar who cannot seem to access her intellect on certain common sense topics?  Or a compassionate minister who snaps coldly at his spouse, with no awareness that he’s shocked the company around him, and then just as quickly picks up warm conversation with others as though nothing happened?  What about the parent who yells with impatience at her child for not being patient, completely oblivious to the mixed messaging? 

It doesn’t take much to wed ourselves to a narrative that serves the ego’s interest or makes circumstances more palatable.  If it enhances our identities and diminishes our fears, we climb aboard and shut down our brains from taking an honest inventory of the situation or relationship.  We don’t want to look at the bad — the arrogance, the selfishness, the rage, the jealousy, the desire for power, the waste, the laziness… the messiah or martyr complexes… the shame and vulnerability — because it scares us.  After all, if you see something undesirable then what?  Then you have to do something about it.  Many would rather bypass spiritual development than face that fact that we are messy, broken people with evolutionary work to do. 

But maybe as this New Year approaches we can find a moment of courage to get real with ourselves and address some of our blind spots.  Maybe we can accept the invitation a fresh year brings to grow into a better version of ourselves.  Maybe we can become just curious enough to know if our vision could improve and what a difference that clarity might make in the quality of our lives. 

A few questions to get that ball rolling: 

How closely does your interior (how you treat the people closest to you) match your exterior (how you treat strangers)? 

If you were to ask the people with whom you interact the most what your blind spots are, what might they say? 

What treasures might you find if you could bring even just one blind spot into the Light for healing this New Year? 

May you be inspired!