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Writer's pictureRaphaëlle Romana

"Good Vibes Only"

Updated: May 6


Light & Shadow

Artwork: Aliexpress.com


This has got to be one of the most annoying sayings, it definitely ranks very high on my personal pet peeves list, very close runner-up to “cheer up”.

Good Vibes Only is essentially dismissive of a part of us we all share: sometimes we don't vibe so “high”. It happens. I get it, high vibes are nice, I love them, but I wouldn't go as far as going around proclaiming that I only want good vibes around. I have moments of "bad" vibes, when I say bad vibes I mean moments which are not always pretty, moments which I feel I try to dismiss because they don't paint the best picture of me. But the reality is that I do have a dark side, a part of me which revels in the idea that this world is really shit, as shitty as it can be beautiful.

What I am saying is that the two come hand in hand. Sure, I can go ahead and create a world of seemingly only beautiful stuff by solely accepting “good vibes” in my perimeter, but I would deny a part of myself which still exists no matter how hard I try to push it aside. That is what I am: the union of two sides, dark/light, moon/sun, bad/good, yin/yang etc...

Personally I would like to find the acceptance of both, the peace in the harmony of that union without one rejecting the other. It's a mindfuck, for me at least. Maybe the people who live in the “good vibes only” or “cheer up” worlds truly never entertain their dark side (they are missing out if you ask me) but I find it hard to believe, because seriously bad shit does happen in this world, and it shakes my soul to its very core, making me question my own identity, my own demons. I know they are there, I see them, recognise them and sure as hell feel them. On some level I also fear them because they have the potential to rot in the same way that the kind, loving and hopeful vibes I also radiate have the potential to flourish.

I only fear them to the point I want to explore them. That's how I feel about anything which generates fear within me; I usually want to find out what's behind the fear instead of shying away from seeing a part of myself which I may not like. There are things I say or do which I am aware could be said or done differently (the option is always there) but they are always said or done in a way which always resonate with me at the time.

I feel that the good vibes only attitude is an attempt to achieve a state of perfection, which seems very utopian to me. And perhaps that is exactly what creates more separation and misunderstanding, first within myself and then with others. Can I simply accept the fact that everything is a dance between two partners attempting to avoid stepping on each other's toes while they invade each other's personal space.



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