The following three articles about shadow have been published in Pioniers Magazine. Shadows are traces or scars of (historical) events that are stored somewhere in your memory, but which you cannot (sharply) see and which determine much of your thinking, feeling and acting on an unconscious level. https://www.pioniersmagazine.nl/schaduwwerk-deel-1-persoonlijke-schaduw/ https://www.pioniersmagazine.nl/schaduwwerk-deel-2-familie-karma/ https://www.pioniersmagazine.nl/schaduwwerk-deel-3-collectieve-schaduw/ Shadows are like blind spots. The importance of shadow work is increasingly emphasized around us, on a personal, relational and collective level. It provides clarity and more space for your personal development if you also get to know your unknown dark sides better. The communication between you and the other improves and deepens if you can see what your triggers are and why you experience much more emotion at certain moments (anger, sadness, put aside, agitated, feeling not seen) than is actually appropriate for the real situation (see part 2 of the triptych). And in society more and more voices are emerging to also see and acknowledge the collective dark sides of our past (part 3) 'Shadowwork' is of great importance in the current world because there is so much darkness around us and working on shadow is more can bring light. Walking together on the road to a sustainable, inclusive and just world is greatly hampered by, among other things, mutual distrust, the pursuit of power, one-sided us-them thinking, a boundless belief in market thinking or endless discussions without taking decisions. These barriers reflect the negative aspects of different perspectives or value systems. On the other hand, when we are able to harness the positive forces of these perspectives, there is more room for change and compassion. This involves creating a sense of security, demonstrating decisiveness, applying structure, being result-oriented, open communication and innovative solutions. To gain access to those positive sources of power, it is often necessary to examine 'cramped patterns' or shadows in your thinking and acting. In addition to your own personal shadow, you can also be influenced by patterns that are much older than yourself, for example by a family pattern: thoughts and reactions that are passed on from generation to generation. But we also all have to deal with collective traumas and shadows. In contrast to Germany, which has been working very intensively on its Holocaust past after the Second World War, the Netherlands still has too little tradition in this respect.