The Narcissist and Their Shadow
Play: The Narcissist can't live in the sunlight where
everything is clearly visible with brilliant colors and well defined
outlines. The narc needs to live in the world between dusk and dawn,
a world of ambiguity where nothing is as it seems and the shadow
world they create can be fully under their control. They need to
come into the sunlight to obtain new supply, and they can maintain
the appearance of a light dweller for quite some time, but this
requires an enormous amount of energy for the narcissist. The world
of sunlight is an unnatural environment for the narc. But the narc
does have the skills to live in that world, they have perfected their
ability to project a custom made persona, “mask” for any
environment, be that the workplace, family relationship, or their
personal relationships. Yes, each of those environments will get
it's own custom made persona, tailored specifically to the
environment's requirements and more importantly to the narc's
ultimate goal: to take full command and control of that environment.
So the narc is driven. Driven by the need to be king or queen, to
being the person who calls the shots and every ounce of their
motivation is focused on that goal and that goal alone. So if the
narc sees a target or scenario they have to own they will do whatever
it takes to take that environment or person over. If it is required
to be humble and obedient, yes the narc can play that role very
convincingly, after all this humility is merely an act and the narc's
pleasure is to be able to pull off that act. If they need to put on
the pretense of being chaste, no problem, dedicated, loyal, kind,
loving, no problem. After all the narc has devoted their whole life
to deception and playing at what they consider the “game of life”.
So let's get back to our analogy. We have all been
outdoors and observed the gradual departure of daylight as it almost
imperceptibly fades away. This is precisely how the narc plies
their trade. Yes they start out in the world of light, but
gradually, imperceptibly they bring their captured targets, light
dwellers, into the dusk and in some cases into total darkness, where
the victim is so blind that they can't see the hand in front of their
face, so profound is the darkness. In that world of darkness the
narc has full control and can make their victim believe whatever they
need them to believe. So they can make themselves into a powerful
person in that shadow world. They can make a dilapidated shack in
the distance, your future together, appear as a lush well maintained
mansion. When it is time to dispense with you, they drag you further
into the darkness and start telling you of wolves in the shadows that
lurk behind every rock and you believe it all by that point. The
mansion? Yes it still exists, but you the victim are unworthy,
someone else will be living in that glorious mansion. Here is the
reality: That mansion never existed. It is a run down, rat infested
shack with a leaking roof, barely large enough to accommodate two
people. Strange how that shack can cast such a gracefully large
shadow. Yes it can. But frankly, I actually took a detailed look at
that “shack”, even as I was in the relationship and I never had
the heart to tell the narc what a ridiculously inadequate environment
it was. Totally impractical. Based on nothing but emotional
manipulation of the most obvious kind, arrogance, apostasy,
deception, and outright lies. I just wonder if the narc already knew
that the shack was just that or they really believed it was a mansion
or at least made themselves believe. Don't care to know anymore.
Not my problem. My journey to that shack was to get to understand
the mentality of that person, to see what I had to work with. Little
did I know the narc was living in a far deeper fantasy world. A
world that would make that “shack” closer to the real world in
comparison. That is sad, but also chilling. So what is the point
for the target or victim of the narcissist? The victim having spent
time in this dark world without even knowing it can't now suddenly go
out into the sunlight, they need to gradually allow themselves to
move closer and closer to the real world, the world of light. Your
journey of healing, moving out of the darkness will be slow and
imperceptible. Just as the gradual fading of darkness makes way for
the light at dawn, you need to drag yourself back into the light
gradually to let your heart, mind, and psyche, your “eyes”,
adjust to that world of light. As the surrounding light increases
you will again be able to see clearly and be able to clearly perceive
the reality of what is going on around you. You will once again have
fresh air to breathe. Leave that swamp and it's wicked odors,
shadows, fog, mud and quicksand to the narcissist. The narc may one
day fall into their own quicksand since they prefer to live in that
world. Yes even the narc who thinks they are the master of the
darkness, can't see everything in that world they prefer to live in.
Are those shadows the narc perceives as the enemy real? Is that
really a bear or a lion or just the shadow of a rock? Is that
quicksand they are about to step into or firm ground? You on the
other hand can walk confidently on verifiable firm ground and live
your life without fear, if you so choose. Yes, we understand
that world of the narcissist, because we had to live in it. There
may be a degree of comfort in that world of ambiguity. You could
probably get used to the wicked odor of the narc and their world, but
that odor gets into every pore of your skin. After many months of
“scrubbing” yourself you can eventually fully eliminate that odor
from your life and move on. Over time in the fresh air you will come
to be repelled by that distinctive “smell”, that “odor” that
is common to all narcissists. It is that sickly sweet smell of death
and decay, combined with arrogance and self deluded importance,
omnipotence,privilege, and exceptional ability. But the narc deftly
covered that up with a heavy dose of cologne or perfume. Many are
all familiar with that haughty bizarre grin of the narc as they get
satisfaction out of having once again successfully gaslit or
otherwise confused or lied to the victim. Contrast the “smell”
of that with a person who genuinely loves and cares about you and
gives you a genuine smile of warmth and affection. Feel the
difference when someone genuinely cares and puts their hand in yours
as they gaze into your eyes. Yes there is a difference. The
difference between life and death, fresh clear pure water and
polluted water, fresh air and foul polluted air. We need to be able
to see the difference. We need to be able to spot the counterfeits,
the fakes. We need to be aware of our surroundings and make sure we
aren't dragged into the darkness where everything has to be taken on
blind faith, where we can't really tell truth from fiction. We need
to stay in the light. We need to focus on discernment. Look for
empathy, look for compassion, look for remorse and a conscience, very
carefully see if a person is genuine in their affections. There is a
difference between the real thing and the fake. We were
deceived. Was it because we were in the darkness and couldn't see?
Was it because we weren't vigilant, because someone redirected our
attention? Did we just not understand due to prior conditioning that
it isn't normal for someone to devalue you, put you down, destroy
your self esteem, and expect you to please them with no
reciprocation? The questions are endless, but it doesn't matter. We
will no longer put up with this. No more. We need to focus on what
is important and we need to expect that our partners respect us and
are truthful with us. We have learned. We will stay in the light
and not allow our focus on the important things to be distracted.
Just as the narcissist became more and more skilled at
deception, we targets can become more and more skilled at detection.
By learning to detect and isolate ourselves from narcissists we
targets can keep our humanity, in the same way that the narc refined
their evil and lost their humanity, if they ever even had any.
The narcissist destroyed your life, that is in the
past. They didn't destroy you, even though right after the discard
or your imposition of no contact it felt that way. You can turn that
tragedy into an opportunity and rebuild your life wisely, or you can
allow that event to define you. Yes, the narcissist destroyed your
past, but you are in control of your present and future. How do we
rebuild and restore our lives? First, don't allow your narc ex and
other narcissists any present or future opportunities by moving
forward with the firm resolve to choose your future and those you
associate with carefully and cautiously, eliminating or minimizing
your contact with narcissists. Second, don't dwell on the abuse, work
on and minimize your desire for vengeance. Leave the narc to God. I
have repeated to myself over and over “Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay, sayeth the Lord”. The full passage is in Romans 12 19 “Do
not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath,
for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the
Lord.” This is also found in Deuteronomy 32 35.
Removing that need for vengeance is a huge task, a daily task for many months, but eventually you can lift that burden off of your shoulders. The burden of punishing the narcissist is too heavy for us to handle and God doesn't want us to have that burden. He wants you to give it to Him, leave it in His hands. That frees you to move on with your life. If God decides the narc deserves no punishment, that is His good pleasure. But rest assured, ultimately no narcissist will get away with a single act that they have committed unless they genuinely humble themselves to God. If the narcissist thinks they can gaslight God or deceive Him in any way they will have a very serious and terrifying awakening in their passage beyond the veil of death. Thank you for watching. Comments are welcomed. Peace be with you.
Removing that need for vengeance is a huge task, a daily task for many months, but eventually you can lift that burden off of your shoulders. The burden of punishing the narcissist is too heavy for us to handle and God doesn't want us to have that burden. He wants you to give it to Him, leave it in His hands. That frees you to move on with your life. If God decides the narc deserves no punishment, that is His good pleasure. But rest assured, ultimately no narcissist will get away with a single act that they have committed unless they genuinely humble themselves to God. If the narcissist thinks they can gaslight God or deceive Him in any way they will have a very serious and terrifying awakening in their passage beyond the veil of death. Thank you for watching. Comments are welcomed. Peace be with you.