The shadow PROVES the sunshine!

Have you ever

…stopped to consider your own shadow?

Always dark, like a black ink spill that takes on a distorted shape — sometimes stretched tall and unnaturally thin in structure or exceptionally wide and oblong —  often giving the impression that the object of the shadow is much grander than it really is or much more miniscule — lacking detail and somewhat obscure in its shape and structure.

The shadow can appear menacing — like it is lurking about ready to pounce at any given moment.  It follows you.  If you walk one direction, the shadow gets overwhelmingly

LARGE!

But walk the other direction and it becomes

B.      R .     O .     A .     D … 

shortened, yes, but  with what seems to be a more all-encompassing swath that could envelope you at any given slight of hand.

What about LIFE SHADOWS?  These are moments in life that paint a dark brush stroke.  These, too, lurk — ready to pounce.  These kind of shadows often catch us off guard — sneak up on us unawares — attached to every step we take …

LARGE  —–  B. R. O. A. D —– always menacing, dark and very difficult to shake loose.

Take these Life Shadows for example:

• An injury requiring major surgery and a very long, difficult recovery
• Loss:  of a loved one, a job, a friendship
• Failed relationships
• Disconnect between family members
• Discouragement
• Depression
• Childhood or Adulthood Trauma
• Loneliness
• Self harm, self neglect, self hatred
• Bad habits that feel unconquerable
• Deep seeded bitterness, anger and unforgiveness towards others or yourself
• Lack of motivation to set goals and actually accomplish them
• Body breakdown due to aging
• Sleeplessness, exhaustion
• Emotional tiredness

Ohhhhh, dear friends — I could name so many more, and to be sure I didn’t ramble on and on, I had to stop myself in my tracks.

These plus many, many more LIFE SHADOWS can take us down with one swift blow to our spirits.

But did you know…

A shadow can only exist if there is light coming from somewhere.

In order for a SHADOW to be present …. in order for it to cast its dark swath over life …. in order for it to even exist  …. there MUST BE SUNSHINE / LIGHT.  Without LIGHT, no SHADOW could be alive.

Do you believe that the SHADOW proves the SUNSHINE?  I mean, really believe?

I do.  

How?  Because I, like you, have been through some very tough life shadows of my own.

I’ve born the brunt of blows

from childhood trauma, to miscarriages

from loss of friendships to loss of loved ones

Emotional breakdowns the likes of which found me lying on the floor for several days, unable to rescue me from my own self

from debilitating injuries to debilitating depression

from relational problems to inconceivable loneliness

I firmly believe that to have hope, we have to see more than the obvious SHADOW that is casting its darkness over our situation, our loved ones, our comfort, our lives.

The fact that a SHADOW may be present in your life PROVES the presence of SUNSHINE …. it proves that there is LIGHT coming from somewhere.

And If the SHADOW does indeed prove the SUNSHINE …..

Therein lies HOPE …. 

And when HOPE is applied — ahhhh

— our entire perspective can shift from focusing on the dark, menacing shadow that is casting its ugliness in our lives to looking for, nay dare I say fervently seeking with expectancy, the light that we know must be present.

Easier said than done?  YES.  I agree wholeheartedly.

Trust me when I say that I know I am preaching to the choir here.  It is just as easy for me to get caught up in the thick, black-ink darkness and remain there … sometimes for quite a bit of time.

My melancholy nature leans more in the direction of the shadow than it does the sunshine.

But oh sweet friend – we are meant to look up – to let the sun shine on our faces – to lift up our eyes and our countenance out of the darkness and into the LIGHT.  We aren’t made to rot, to wallow around in the mud of self destruction.

I, you — WE are made to be the LIGHT BEARERS.

To seek the light around every dark corner.

To hold out light to others who are entangled in their own dark shadows.

To dispel the notion that the darkness is a true reflection of who we are and how we are to view the world around us.

     Shadows are an imperfect, distorted representations of our state of being and deserve to be put into perspective.

———-

If you see that shadow looming-

If it scares you-

If it begins to morph into something so grand that you begin to cower-

If it appears to be attached to you so strongly, as if choking you out with inky-black hands around your neck-

LOOK UP!

Somewhere within proximity there’s gotta be a ray of LIGHT — allowing your shadow to take precedence on center stage — for the moment.

TURN YOUR BACK on your shadow.  Force it to stand down.

And then with new perspective –

THANK YOUR SHADOW

for it serves as the proof you needed to remember that there is light just around the corner!

.

“And after the storm I run and run as the rains come

And I LOOK UP.  I LOOK UP!

On my knees and out of luck, I LOOK UP!

Night has always pushed up day.  You must know life to see decay

But I won’t rot.  Not this mind and not this heart-

I won’t rot.

There will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.

And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.

Get over your hill and see what you find there.

With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.”

-excerpt from “After the Storm” by Mumford and Sons

Here’s my light saber if you need it …

Soldier On, My Friends,

Soldier ON!