If the world is ever looking
For a jester, it’s me.
It’s tempting to be tempting,
As I’m attempting to be.

Learning to confront - and ultimately manage - your shadow, no matter how daunting it may appear, is an essential step on your road to spiritual maturity. Lucy's life is one illustration of how your world can change once you decide that you and not your shadow will create your future. Lucy spent years trying to please everyone but herself, which is hardly a rare dilemma. "I had read a book a few years ago about a woman who decided one day just to pack up a few belongings and take to the raod without a map or a personal agenda," Lucy told me. "She was just going to take her life one day at a time. I was filled with envy when I read that. Her story made me feel like a prisoner, and from that moment on, I was miserable. It wasn't my job, it wasn't my family. It was me and my belief that everyone's happiness depended on my being in their lives. I encouraged their dependency, and at the same time I resented every one of them."