Why Does Dark Side Bother Going to All That Trouble?
Why would those aligning with the Dark Side care enough to want to go to the trouble of seeking to prove that free will, therefore a benevolent Creator and universe, do not exist? What benefit is there for them in that pursuit? They will tell you that it is to hold ‘dominion over’, to be considered the only force of merit, that the natural order is that negativity should reign over truth and love.
While it is true that negativity in certain contexts can be easier to lean into than positivity, the truth is that there is no benefit in pursuing this agenda; only suffering results from it for everyone of both Dark and Light consciousness. Enforcing, and being subjected to, lack of Light is excruciatingly painful for Dark and Light alike. All hierarchies cause pain and anything arising from them creates pain, even for those with privilege benefiting from being at the top of the pyramid. Those in the lower layers of any hierarchy suffer from lack, exclusion, subjugation and often persecution and those dictating norms and benefiting from privilege at the upper layers of the hierarchy suffer with greed, being ‘possessed’ by what they own, needing to ‘hold on’ to what they have by building on that and loneliness through exile from others because of a privileged perspective on the world. Ultimately, the greatest suffering that comes from hierarchical thinking is the disconnect for those at the top from the rest of humanity; a sense that all people are separate from one another. This separates us from the flow of union, or oneness of ‘inter-being’, of all things and ultimately keeps us from our divinity and our humanity.
Ultimately, however, the real reason Dark Side acts as it does, isn’t to bring about some world order as it might claim. Instead, similar to the toddler who does not want to build a tower of blocks but rather smash one down because that is their level of development, so too, those on the Dark Side trajectory are simply fulfilling their level of awareness.
What is Evil?
In Aramaic, a Semitic language from the 6th century in the Near East and the language Jesus spoke, there is no direct translation for the word 'evil'; the nearest equivalent is the word 'unripe' (Betsy Bergstrom). That significant difference in the Aramaic translation compared with our westernized, Christian understanding of the word 'evil' is how malevolence can be seen as it is alive in the world today; stark immaturity and ignorance, often nasty to the point of heinous, lacking in the advancements that come with evolution. The only accurate way to see 'evil' is to hold it in this context with compassion and understanding.
What is the Real Reason Light and Dark are in this Dance Together?
Ultimately, however, aside from the trauma and suffering caused by Dark Side influence, the dramatics between Light and Dark are not as sinister as they may seem.
On the one hand, our unfailing identity is as Light beings and any veering from that is temporary, at best, and illusory. We may think we agree with the Dark Side suggestions given to us, and we may even succumb to their urging to perform acts outside of our nature, but ultimately we cannot be other than what we are. Gestalt philosophy says that we cannot change from one thing to another, but only change into more of what we already are. And as well as that, while it is true to say that all Dark Side beings are in a constant state of suffering (by being absent from Light), that state is not permanent; rather they are only in a moving state of growth and evolution and change, as we all are. They, too, have free will, and while their actions have consequences for themselves and others, they have the right to do as they please. So, the status quo isn’t permanent.
On the other hand, beneath that cold exterior of an 'unripe' behavior is actually a signpost for all those who have suffered. That signpost says: ‘Darkness, and all belonging to it, live here. This is suffering; this is what being absent from Light looks and feels like. Rejoining the Light is the only way out of this mentality for victims, perpetrators and survivors alike.’ Having experienced the Dark, it makes wanting to move forward out of that harrowing place inevitable and the direction home unequivocal. And this is the true reason for darkness and duality generally; we were given free will and we chose Light and Dark and everything in between, creating a duality, some falling away from the Creator, some aligning with work that identifies with It, and the darkness now asks us: “Where do you truly belong? Where is home for you? In the Light, or in the darkness?”
Without the duality of Light and Dark, we take things as they are and do not choose a direction or preference. Only by leaving God (the Light) can we have known that being absent from the Light is such a painful experience, enough to make us vow to never tread that road again, do all in our power to avoid it at all costs, recover, change the experience for those coming after us and to make the world a better place having lived through that horror. It helps us to come home to ourselves as Light beings; we know who we are, not least because we know who we are not. And that choice makes all the difference, because it means we choose to go home to God, to evolve, we choose to be reunited with our nature, our divinity, our true selves, and stand in that power.
If that choice were absent, humanity would be corralled into a moral evolution whether it liked it or not, and that removes the gift of free will, bestowed upon us to give us the freedom to do as we choose, not as we are commanded. And that is the gift of a loving God.