Do you sometimes feel like there are voices inside your head arguing about an action you are thinking of taking? How many times have you wanted to do something, only for two different opinions to arise in your thoughts, not just as thoughts, but almost like voices in conflict with each other? Each voice seems to hold an opposite view about what you are about to do, leaving you feeling lost between them.
If so, let’s try to explore what might actually be going on.
Usually, when we think about an action we want to take, we focus on what we hope to achieve from it, rather than how it might affect others. We think in terms of our own needs, goals, or desires. This is where the role of these “voices” comes in.
One of these voices represents consideration for others. It starts to think about how the action might affect other people, whether it goes against moral rules established by society, or how others might perceive and judge us if they knew about it. The argument of this voice is often to stop us from taking the action if it could lead to harm, conflict, or negative consequences for others or for how we are seen.
The other voice usually represents the side of personal benefit, often without considering wider consequences. This voice focuses on what you gain, regardless of how it might affect others. It may try to convince you that it is acceptable to negatively impact other people for your own advantage, suggesting that it is their responsibility for not being prepared, protected, or strong enough to handle it.
At other times, it may argue that you can simply avoid consequences altogether, by finding a way to act without anyone knowing, in order to escape judgment. It might even question moral rules entirely, suggesting that since they are created by humans, there is no real reason to follow them or let them limit your actions.
In general, the voice that encourages you to care about others is often described as “light,” while the more selfish voice is described as “darkness.” This raises an important question: what are these voices, really? Are they both inside you, or are they both you? Or are they coming from external sources that are greater than you, capable of placing thoughts directly into your mind?
However you choose to interpret or answer these questions, you will likely find some sense in each argument. But perhaps what matters more is not where these voices come from, but how you listen to them. The real question may be whether one of these voices ends up controlling your actions entirely, or whether you are able to listen to both, and then arrive at a balanced decision with awareness of what your actions will lead to.
People tend to label actions that harm others as “evil” or “dark,” and actions that help others as “good” or “light.” From this perspective, pure evil could be seen as reaching a point where you only listen to the dark voice, to the extent that the light voice is no longer heard at all, and actions are taken immediately without any inner discussion or reflection between the two.
On the other hand, pure good could be described as completely shutting out the dark voice and always acting according to the light voice alone. However, most people exist somewhere in the middle, sometimes following the light, sometimes the dark.
There is a very thin line, though, between being aware of the dark voice and allowing it to fully control you without questioning it. This is why it is important to constantly remind yourself that you are not either of these voices. You are the one responsible for reasoning, reflecting, and making decisions you will not regret or blame yourself for later, because once actions are taken, they cannot be undone.
Now ask yourself this: how controlled are you, really? Or are you still in control?
