“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody”. Mark Twain.
It’s a matter of perception sometimes as to what we consider our dark side. Most of us are not serial killers, thieves or vagabonds, we go through life doing the best we can aware, if we are perceptive enough, to realise we are all capable of dark deeds in dark places. It’s called being human.
But some do have an obvious dark side, a penchant for doing wrong, committing sins which injure others and generally appearing to have no regard for the people around them.
I think its easy for others to point the finger at us and tell us when they believe we have done wrong. Judging others is a pastime for some, often as a means of masking their own failures.
I stopped for a while to consider what a dark side might be. It’s a subjective view of others and self. You might be a perfectly reasonable person, run a successful business and contribute to your community but at night in the cover of darkness and within the privacy of your own home you are a closet drinker, a cross-dresser, an addicted gambler, a taking of recreational drugs and so on.
It is perfectly understandable that you wouldn’t want such activities publically known; you do have a reputation to uphold and a job to return to each day. Public perception of such ‘dark activities’ would never go down well if they were known.
So often it is our own perception of ourselves that places us in a position where we feel the shame of whatever ‘dark side’ we believe we possess. We suffer the embarrassment of feeling the wrath of society coming down on us, and let’s face it; many of us do worry about what people think of us.
People who engage in acts of domestic violence do so in the confines of their family. They don’t want such things known. So often we hear surprise expressed at the behaviour of one family member when that family is held up as a pillar of society.
We never know what goes on behind people’s front doors. Domestic violence can be both physical and mental.
The anger contained in such acts is something the perpetrator wouldn’t ever want revealed, and they engage in tactics of fear along with their violence to intimidate their victims against revealing anything that might incriminate them.
The shame of discovery can be overwhelming to both victim and perpetrator.
We are all capable of possessing a dark side, be in the form of action or thought. Keeping it in the dark is what we strive to achieve.
Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/reenas-exploration-challenge-74/
Morpethroad 
Not only is that perceptive, open, honest, but also compassionate. I feel moved, just to read it. And now I sit here wondering if I’ve got a black side I’m hiding even from myself. 🙂
I’m sure there’s one there somewhere unless you are perfect which is always a possibility 😁
Oh, lots of dusk, even some twilight, just not totally dark. 🙂
Well done Michael. Looking at our dark side is not easy, nevertheless it is there in all of us.
Hello Helene, thanks for your comment, I did find this a tough prompt to write to.
I believe you, I have not attempted to write my response to the prompt yet. You did well Michael.
You caught on to the theme perfectly. Social acceptability creates a divide between the public and private self. The driving force behind the private acts is either what gives you satisfaction (cross-dressing is giving vent to real identity, drugs are escape mechanisms) or a measure of self-protection (violence stems from a fear of being overpowered, or resentment about non-acceptance). We call it dark because it is hidden from the external world, but it is an inner light for the individual concerned.
Thanks for joining in!
Thanks Reena
Reblogged this on Reena Saxena and commented:
A perspective on the dark side ….. by Michael
It’s a matter of perception, indeed. Great take. Loved it.
Hello indira thanks for the lovely comment
My pleasure.
I can see you put a lot of thought into this Michael.
Yes I certainly did thanks for the lovely comment
You are very welcome.