The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

05.01.17.

It's hard sometimes when we are stuck in the shadows to realize that wherever we put our focus becomes out reality. If we realized that we simply need to turn our face to the sunshine we maybe wouldn't be so attached to the shadow--

Sure, we would still know it's there, but our attention would be elsewhere, basking in the light.

Sometimes, the light can be blinding if we aren't used to looking at it--and if we look at it straight on, it can bee too intense, and burn. But we have to take baby steps . . . and protect ourselves along the way.

It takes intention and presence to look toward the light. And the irony is, that we also must appreciate, acknowledge, and honor the shadow in order to move to the light . . . without shadow the sunshine cannot exist.

In our human existence, we simply cannot experience joy with out its shadow, which can come to us in broken relationships, sadness, major life changes--the things in life that can bring us to our knees.

But that's the point; it's how we grow. And we can be grateful for all of it, because the sun cannot exist without the moon, and we cannot see the moon without the darkness.

If we can get large enough and get out of the particulars, the weeds of our existence, we can begin to imagine the grand scheme of the Universe with gratitude and humility. But the weeds are part of it, and they can be part of the beauty of our existence.

I never knew a dandelion was a weed until the grownups told me to pull them from the garden. 

When I was a kid, I thought dandelions were beautiful pockets of sunshine on Earth; I used to watch their yellow faces follow the sun moving through the sky, and I collected them into the most delicate, ribboned bouquets.

The balance between light and dark, sun and shadow, can by a tricky navigation. Pure momentary presence honors both, and our challenge is to accept wherever we find ourselves with full attention. It's not an easy task, but it's often the resistance to shadow that keeps us from moving and breaking through into the sunlight. But don't underestimate the function of the shadow; after all, the shadow proves the sunshine.