Dancing Through Your Shadows Toward Empowerment

I've been reflecting a lot lately about victim mentality versus empowerment, and what I've found is, as all shadow work tends to be, somewhat uncomfortable, especially to my subconsciously programmed ego.

The surprising truth behind some of these ideas is that we are all toxic on some level (on a spectrum), and anyone can fall into the damaging habit of taking their emotional baggage (usually suppressed or unprocessed for prolonged periods of time) out on other people, especially those we care about and become attached to.

This leads me to one of the most powerful and important revelations I have had over the last several years of inner work and learning to love and accept myself for who I am rather than who others tell me I should be:

Abuse and victimhood or being targeted by someone toxic are two sides of the same coin. They both come from a deep sense of insecurity, shame toward ourselves, and a lack of understanding who we are on a deeper level. Getting to know ourselves and accept ourselves for who we are deep down is an amazing process of inner healing, and when we embark on this journey, we may find that we have more in common with our aggressors than we'd like to admit, especially if we are still trying to hold others responsible for our lives or our emotions on any level.

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