As I’ve been exploring the new-to-me genre of horror + watching some truly frightening stories on screen, I’m thinking about all the ways the monsters + ghosts + haunted places are symbols of something deeper.

And how we create our own monsters + ghosts + haunted places by pushing feelings into shadow, running away from our grief, and turning away from the parts of life we don’t like.

In scary stories, the monsters are the scariest when they’re hidden in the darkness, just out of sight.

Because when we actually see the monsters in the light of day, the fear isn’t quite as visceral + activating.

The same is true for the monsters we create, I think -- for the hard feelings + deep questions + alive knowings we push into the shadows.

When we simply stop running + feel, when we shine a light on what we’ve been hiding away to see it face to face, it becomes a completely different experience.

Take grief, for instance -- something our culture often pushes away (+ encourages us to push away).

It can be a truly horrific + monstrous experience (if we run + push it away such that it becomes a shadowy figure that chases us).

Or it can be a rich + dynamic -- if also an intense + challenging -- encounter with something real + human + alive, something that’s showing up for an important + healing reason.

In real life, the monsters we create have something to offer.

They have a truth to tell, a question to ask, or an invitation to make.

And our work is simply to stop screaming + listen, stop running + feel, and turn toward the shadows to take a closer + deeper look.

What might that look like for you?