step out of your shadows

SHADOW: an area that direct light cannot reach due to some type of obstruction; darkness.

LIGHT: something that makes things visible or affords illumination; awareness, enlightenment.

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you."

-Walt Whitman

"To contemplate is to look at shadows."

-Victor Hugo

"Fear no shadows, least of all in that great spectre of personal unhappiness which binds half the world to orthodoxy."

-Thomas Huxley

"Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the Shadow."

-T.S. Eliot

shadows abound in our lives.

clouding out those brighter shining moments.

sunshine vs. shadows.

light vs. darkness.

here are a few of my current highlights, and their accompanying shadows:

1. plans to continue traveling the world ~ the endless wait for our property to sell.

2. temporary extended stay in my hometown ~ my mom no longer here to laugh with us.

3. transition to online business ~ saying goodbye to my in-person studio.

these shadows place me in the twilight zone of what i call "in-between-ness."

good ~ bad.

high ~ low.

up ~ down.

are you sensing a theme here?

doesn't there always seem to be a shadow?

an obstruction hovering over everything positive, everything right?

such is life.

you can't escape the inevitable shade.

i'm correct, am i not?

but wait . . .

perhaps we should try to illuminate our way as best we can?

maybe we should live the life that we want to live.

and deal with the shadows as they are cast.

ignore, eliminate, lessen, work around, face straight on, push away the shadows.

what does it require?

insight. strength. persistence.

search. search your heart and your mind.

what makes you light up?

what makes you come alive?

dive in and discover what lifts you.

and also what brings you down.

then use this knowledge to fight back against the shadows that enter your life.

don't let them overshadow and destroy you.

i have personally set out to identify, and then conquer mine.

figuring out the way through has led me to my new mantra:

from transitional to transformational.

we will always have shadows.

therefore, it is vital for our continued well-being to stay alert to their presence.

shine your light.

step out of your shadows.

now. you simply must share.

your own shadows, your own ways to overcome.

let me know in the comments - i'd love to hear your ideas.

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