Beneath the Surface

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a chilling story of a dignified respectable man who manages to separate his personality into two, his good side, and his evil side. The story plays with the idea of what happens when man has to much freedom. Dr. Jekyll creates a monster of himself and begins losing control of his humanity because of his experiments.

There is good and evil in all of us. What we choose defines us.

This story is fascinating because it explores freedom, good, evil, and agency. Dr. Jekyll splits himself and becomes two identities, the other being Mr. Hyde. Mr Hyde is the evil, base, carnal, animalistic, and instinctual side of Dr. Jekyll, where Jekyll retains the dignity, goodness, and well mannered behavior expected in a civilized society. This novel tells us the story of this man and what happens to him, and I very much look forward to reading it myself and learning more about it. From my brief research on the book thus far I've had some interesting thoughts.

I feel as though this story can be applied to each and every human. Each one of us has an internal battle that is constant between our conscience and our instinct. In a religious realm we are constantly choosing whether we will follow God, or lower ourselves and follow the Devil. However you choose to view this, we all make constant choices that fuel our good side or our evil side. We have the agency, as autonomous beings, to define our life and what we will be and who we will become. For many, the path of natural desire, instinct, lust, and self servitude is easier and more enticing. For others, the diligent quest of self mastery and goodness is the end goal.

But each of us has moments on both sides. Wether we are seeking evil or seeking good, we still make choices which fuel the other side. We need to be careful as we make our choices. If we let our evil sides have to much freedom, we, like Dr. Jekyll, can lose control and our Mr. Hyde will prevail. We have individual liberty to make our own path and to choose good or choose evil. What is beneath your surface? Dr. Jekyll? Or Mr. Hyde?


https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Strange-Case-of-Dr-Jekyll-and-Mr-Hyde

Not Meant for Oppression

There is only so much a human being can take. We are not meant for oppression, and this is clearly proven as we study history.

The oppressive nature of the Catholic Church overshadowed any good that it meant to offer. With the advent of the printing press, we began to see people finally have the opportunity to express themselves. Ideas poured out like a firehose, and there was no going back. From this time forward, each new era saw even more and more human creativity and determination to express oneself both individually and collectively.

Of course, along with the positive effects of freedom came the negative: war and destruction and even more oppression in other ways. I am guessing that had the Catholic Church not been so domineering over the centuries, we might not have seen such a severe pushback.

We can take this “story” of history, learn from it, and carry out better relationships in our families. Too often, we see domineering and dogmatic parents raising their children with a determination that the children will grow up to do and be everything the parents want them to. When this doesn’t happen, there is a division in families just as we saw in the peoples of our past.

Children do not like to be told how to think and what to believe. As parents, it is our job to allow them to find their own way, guiding them along with a hand of safety and a heart of love. To be sure, we will not like nor approve of many of their choices. But this is not a problem to “go to war” over. Instead, let us embrace the good and learn from the difficulties of watching others use their agency in their own lives.

Let us be the best examples of what tolerance should be.

https://pixabay.com/en/rope-wall-woman-anxiety-girl-gray-1655780/