There are shadows in the mundane, and there is beauty in the shadow.
“Shadow work” is a buzz word in the spiritual community, and it refers to the process of looking at one’s own behaviors, habits and patterns that can lead to fear, self-sabotage, and a life that is not what one desires.
The shadows exist for all of us, but they don’t have to be dark and scary things. In fact, the presence of a shadow requires the presence of light. Without the light, the shadow would not exist.
Years ago shadow work was dense, heavy, and took long periods of time in a dark night of the soul. But there is more light on the earth now, there is more light in our souls, there is more light being spread and being embodied. And so the shadows aren’t as dense, they’re not as heavy, they’re not as scary.
Without the light, the shadow would not exist.
It can still be scary to look at them, to face them. But the fear lies in the fear itself, not in the shadows. And that fear is really a fear of accepting the consequences of one’s own actions. It’s a fear of seeing all of oneself. Because what happens when we see ourselves as we truly are? Will we despise ourselves? Will we be stuck in shame and guilt? Will we ever love ourselves again?
The answer to that lies in a choice. We either face the shadows and succumb to that fear, or we face the shadows and remember the presence of light. We see the beauty of the shadow, and how shadows exist in the mundane. We see how normal they are, how alike we are to all humans.
And we let the light in, which makes way for the love, and the healing begins.
