Light and Shadows

I’ve been sick with the flu for a couple of days. All the kids have been or currently are having their turn with it as well. I’ve been unmotivated for weeks. I’m gaining weight. Mel fell off a ladder and has to have knee surgery. I feel like my house will never get finished. I hate mud. My children are fighting…

Hold on. I’m usually not sick. Recovery from sickness reminds me how grateful I am that I’m usually well. I can choose to find new motivation. Every day is a new day, and I can eat better today. Mel has been much higher than two ladder rungs up during this home project, and I am grateful his injury isn’t worse. I’m glad there are doctors and surgeons in the world. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to remodel my house, and someday it will be finished and I will love it. I can plant grass again. My children will hopefully stop fighting. Someday…

Life is like a tapestry. The threads are woven tightly together. There are dark, heavy and coarse ones which define the shadows. There are fine, silky and glittery ones which provide interest and highlights. I find that I don’t really see the shadows unless I am looking for them, but without them the tapestry would lack a necessary element which provides a sense of depth and reality. Similarly, I find that I don’t concentrate on the highlights unless I am looking for them. But once I know what to look for, there are more of them than I realize. Maybe only a few that really sparkle and glitter, but many which are bright and beautiful.

Life is like a piece of art. The highlights can’t be overdone, or they make the painting feel false. But the few that exist are there to draw your eye to certain sections of the painting. The brightest, lightest, highlights are the most beautiful and joy-filled days of my life. The day I married my husband. The days my children were born. And then blending away from those brightest spots are many areas of softer light. The days I spend with my sisters. The conversations I have with childhood friends. The unhurried moments I spend enjoying an evening outside with a child.

Life is like a photograph. The most interesting black and white photographs are the ones which take advantage of the differences between light and shadows. Without shadows, the photo feels superficial, unnatural, shallow. The shadows in my life, once placed into the photograph, never really leave but influence the overall picture and give depth to the story. Sometimes they are light, misty gray shadows and occasionally the deepest black. I have experienced sadness, grief, loss, worry, sickness, betrayal. But then there is the light. As there are shades of gray and black, there are also shades of light. The soft hazy light and the brightest, whitest light. I can focus on the shadows if I want. But when I do they seem to become darker and I lose sight of the light. I can focus on the light if I want. And when I do the shadows don’t completely disappear but seem to lose intensity. Like a great photograph, life is worth more than a passing glance. It is worth examination and analysis. It is worth gazing at for its interesting play on light and shadows. It is worth hanging on a wall for everyone to enjoy.

I stop and realize that in life, it’s not about how much shadow and how much light. It’s about attitude. It’s about choice. I am reminded that “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” Shadows are necessary for personal and spiritual growth. Light exists to provide us happiness and show us truth. I accept the reality of both. Today, I choose to search for light.