The Terrible Ugly
corruption within
By Madame X © 2000 (2008 revision)
At first glance the Nightkind community appears to be quite beautiful. It is laced with Lords and Ladies of gracious etiquette, adorned with grand balls and candlelit soirées, fluttering hand fans, gloved hands and prim walking canes. There is patchouli and cloves in the air and decadent savory potions on inviting lips. Hands are kissed, pleasantries exchanged, Elders respected and the newly arrived treasured.
But in the shadows there lurks a terrible ugly thing that permeates our community, resilient in its pervasion it discredits our mentors, sours our young, corrupts the seasoned, and divides the rest. There is no small remedy for it, no true way to avoid it and few places where we can even begin to hide from it. It is an ugly so shameful that little has ever been written on it, since it has no doubt, to some degree, touched every individual within our beautiful Nightkind Community.
When we first enter the community it is no doubt at the hand of someone who dares to light a candle within us. They remind us of whom we are, what we have forgotten, that we have a formidable potential and a greater purpose. Nightkind need this candle’s light. Its subtle glow guides our desires, assists us in our path of self preservation, it motivates us to grow, learn and teach; it insures the very continuation of our kind. Our community and its denizens cultivate this glow with ceremonies, formalities, bestowments and indulgences. This glow strengthens us, betters us, allows us distinction and recognition…but his beautiful candle in our heart can become blinding, steering us farther and farther away from our center.
Before stepping inside a community gathering, you are expected to look the part, by dressing and behaving in the appropriate fashion. Like royalty we are told. We are encouraged to believe that we, Nightkind, are more special and certainly more significant than the weak mainstream majority; that there are names for the likes of those and that we, Nightkind, despise and reject them. We are thought how to earn a place on top of the food ladder, how to climb the social echelons through charm and narcissism, and how to magnify ambition, diligence and over-achievement to leave others staggered in the dust. We are encouraged to be our own gods, laugh on the face of compassion, and insist on selfish indulgences. The combination of all this can be an intoxicating brew, where we can undoubtedly not only engage but revel in it. In fact, the denizens of our community celebrate arrogance and empty pride, as often as talent and dedication, sometimes even more so.
Attaining satisfaction from meeting our goals needs to generate positive social behaviors like helping others, or mentoring, enhancing our levels of altruism, creativity, and productivity in our personal lives as well as in the community. Not aggression, not conflict nor hostility. It is this very empty pride that distempers our composure, it is the underlying reason for all the other problems we face, and can ultimately be the reason for the very disintegration of our beloved community. It behooves us to cultivate and channel positive self-affirming pride, not only for ourselves but also for those who walk beside us. As members of the community we must strive to stay away from those whose grandiose over-confidence is not only unjustifiable, but inflated to the point where others, particularly the young, the newly awakened, or the life-donors, become by word or actions reduced to insignificant play things. As mentors for our community we must carefully impart responsibility and endowments, for they may create a proverbial self-consuming monster. As senior members we must not fall prey to greed, unwarranted flattery, command, commission, spotlight, or otherwise engage in arrogant self-congratulatory behavior.
Our path as Nightkind is not easy. We must internally connect with our senses of accountability, fortitude and integrity. Our gifts are our responsibility. Our challenges are our evolution. And our life-choices demonstrate our character.