I learn something from my son everyday.
I remember one lesson he taught me about a week ago. We were outside playing in the sun and he was fascinated with his shadow. He tried his very best to grab a hold of this ephemeral substance but found he was unable to. What did he do when he found he couldn't do it?
He kept trying...
We're like this in so many ways in our lives. The metaphor for the shadow could be our spiritual lives or the world of the spirit. When we see it for the first time, it's very intriguing, but over time some of us lose interest while others can't stop chasing our own shadows.
Shadows are strange things. They exist purely because of light, yet they cannot exist within the source of light. Our spiritual lives are the same way. We have spiritual lives because of the light of God, but the distinction between spiritual and physical fades within the presence of the Divine, the ultimate source of the light.
We chase shadows throughout our lives in many ways because these shadows serve as reminders or as signs of their source, but when one truly understands the shadow - the source becomes apparent.
My son's insistence on chasing his shadow is a good thing, I pray that someday, he and whomever else wishes to search - finds the source and sees that the shadow fascinates because of it's cause and the truth behind it, not because of it's own substance.
May the light of the shadow illuminate all.
