Find love in yourself,
And when you meet
The hungry giants of evil,
Feed them from your heart.
Witness the fight
Of success and failure,
Of life and death.
You’ll find only one hero-
And the other does not exist.
The Inner Alchemy
Isn’t it fascinating how our greatest battles often take place within ourselves? This piece beautifully captures the essence of inner transformation and the power of self-love.
The idea of feeding the “hungry giants of evil” from your heart reminds me of what Carl Jung said about integrating our shadow self: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” By acknowledging and nurturing even our darker aspects with love, we can transform them.
The portrayal of internal conflict as a “fight / Of success and failure, / Of life and death” is similar to Jung’s concept of the individuation process, where one must confront and integrate various aspects of the psyche. As Jung states in “The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious,” “The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce act out the conflict and be torn into opposing halves.”
The concept of witnessing the fight between success and failure, life and death, echoes what the Bhagavad Gita teaches about non-attachment. As Krishna advises Arjuna, “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.” This perspective allows us to observe life’s dualities without being consumed by them.
When the poem speaks of finding only one hero, it brings to mind Joseph Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey. As he put it, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” The hero we seek is often ourselves, waiting to be discovered through our challenges.
The notion that “the other does not exist” reflects what the Zen master Shunryu Suzuki meant when he said, “To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.” By removing the concept of an opposing force, we free ourselves from unnecessary struggle.
So what does all this mean? Perhaps it’s about recognizing that our greatest power lies in self-love and self-acceptance. It’s about understanding that the ‘giants’ we face are often projections of our own fears and insecurities, and that by nurturing them with love, we can transform them.
Remember, every moment you spend cultivating self-love is a step towards slaying your inner giants. As Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
Next time you face your inner ‘giants’, consider: How can you approach them with love and acceptance rather than fear or aggression? Because in the end, isn’t that what makes us truly heroic? This ability to face our inner demons with compassion, to recognize that in the grand narrative of our lives, we are both the hero and the challenge to be overcome. Your journey of self-discovery and self-love is the ultimate hero’s quest. How will you embrace it today?