Embrace the monster within…
“Oh, monsters are scared, said Lettie. That's why they're monsters.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
From the earliest myths such as werewolves through to works of fiction like Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde and up to more modern classic stories like Star Wars and Batman, we've been interested in that monstrous part of us that lurks within the darkness of our own humanity. That’s really no surprise when you think of our history, when you think of our roots and origins, when you think of the animalistic elements we have had to exhibit and embrace merely to survive. It’s one of the things that has kept us alive.
Our humanity has endured and thrived in brutal times. So it's no wonder, as we've evolved, that we have tried to move into being more civilised beings, that we have found it hard to come to terms with this darkness, these murderous, animalistic, instinctive parts of us. So we hide, repress and deny them, but when we do that they become the stuff of myth, they become the stuff of legend, they become the part of us that we don't want to see but project everywhere.
We've long since known that we have this monstrous part of us, but what do we do with it? Well, I believe it's better to acknowledge the malicious part of me. I believe it's better to embrace it rather than lock it away. It's a theme that I've been interested in most of my life, in fact I even wrote and directed a film about it nearly 20 years ago called 'Monster', which was based on the story of Frankenstein. Why do I believe we should embrace it rather than lock it away? As Herman Hesse said in his classic book on the subject of the monstrous side of humanity, Steppenwolf:
“For what I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity.”
When we hide our monsters, when we try to repress and deny them, we lock away a very powerful tool. We lock away a force that kept us going for 100,000 years, that, one way or another, kept our bloodline moving forward, that forced innovation and creativity. This darkness, this will to control, and to have power over, got us to where we are now. It just doesn’t serve us now.
Now we have a choice to do something different, but that doesn't mean that it goes away. I believe that what isn't in the light grows in the shadows and spills out whether we want to see it or not. Our society shows us that what isn't in the light still exists in the darkness. It doesn't go away. If we look at our society now, which on the surface is presented as a civilised, privileged, modern place, we don't have to scratch much below the surface to see that every hideous act that we can think of has been done or is being done. Right now, somewhere in this country, some of the worst things you can imagine are taking place. So, does it help us to just pretend it isn't? We know it doesn't. We know that we have to go in and look at it and try to understand it to make it better, to get some control over it.
I can't control a part of myself that I hide, repress and deny. I won't see it, but you will, because it will come out in my actions, it will still be there. Only when I look at my darkness, only when I look at the monstrous part of me, the part that can kill, that wants to have this power over you, that wants to take everything and keep it to myself, only then can I take that poison and start to turn it into medicine.
As humans, one of the hardest things for us to admit is that we're still animals, that we still have the instinct of animals. When I can't associate with something then I separate myself from that something. When I'm not an animal then I'm no longer part of nature. I think that's one of the big problems we're having as a world right now. The men running things do not see themselves as an integral part of nature. They see themselves as something 'other’. I see myself as something 'other'. If I can't admit that I'm an animal then I cannot admit that I share those traits.
We see animals as a functioning part of nature. We don't see their core traits as evil. We don't see their murderous traits as evil. We see it as survival. But if, myself, as a human, has a cruel or murderous thought, then I see myself as evil, rather than just an instinctive thought that no longer serves me. We don't see animals as vicious instinctive killers, as ‘monsters’. We just acknowledge it's part of them. But for us, we see ourselves as ‘monsters’. Let's be clear, I'm not saying that we should allow monstrous thoughts to go unchecked or that we should somehow find cruel, murderous, behaviour normal. I believe, as humans, that the power of thought and the power of choice that we have is to move us forward towards a more positive contribution to the world, to search and evolve into different ways of being. That choice is the privilege that some of us have just by being alive now. I do believe that we need to make friends with that monstrous part of us so we can keep it in check and use its energy. So I can keep it where I can see it. So I can thank it for its input, but gently tell it that I no longer need to behave in that manner, that I no longer need to behave in that way to survive, that I'm moving towards a more collaborative way of being. Sometimes I think that being a man, being a human, is like being an alcoholic. I have to first admit that I'm dangerous, before I can start to become safe. By safe, I do not mean passive, mediocre or unchallenging because that isn't what the world needs right now. By safe, I mean I get to use my strength to support others, to nurture communities and to work hard at building a better world for everyone. By safe, I mean a world where I don't believe that more for everyone else means less for me.
You know how films always have an evil genius villain? He's usually rich, resourceful, really clever and charismatic. Well, just imagine that instead of the hero killing him, or putting him in prison (hiding him away), that the hero helped him to become a good guy, and to use all that genius, all that money, all that energy, all that charisma, to build something better, build a team with him. What would their world look like then?
What would our world look like if all our evil geniuses were working for good and for the benefit of our communities and for the benefit of all?
What would your world look like if you could turn your villain into 'our' hero?
It seems to me like the world is often run by evil villains!
What would the world look like if we now took all of that, all of that control, all of those power systems, structures, resources that we've put in place and we could turn it all on its head and use it for collaboration and for the good of all mankind?
What if we turned our poison into medicine?
What if we became the good guys?
