On a recent walk I saw reflections of the sun in a puddle on the path. When I downloaded the photo to my computer I was surprised to see tiny sunbursts all over the photo. Light everywhere!
On that same walk I noticed shadows of the trees on the path in front of me. And it reminded me that life is neither all light nor shadow, but a combination of both. Light could not exist without darkness. Wherever there is light there are also shadows.
Light and Shadow
All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.
— Leo Tolstoy
I’ve been re-reading the Chronicles of Elantra book series by Michelle Sagara. And I’ve been especially enjoying the main character’s growth and change during the series. In the most recent book I read, she was confronting shadows from her past, things she had done which she regretted. The treatment of the character and her ability to learn to love her whole self, shadow and light, inspires me to do the same
Being desirable means being comfortable with your own ambiguity. The most ambiguous reality is that we are flesh and spirit at the same time. Within everyone there is light and shadow, good and evil, love and hate. In order to be truthful, you must embrace your total being. A person who exhibits both positive and negative qualities, strengths and weaknesses is not flawed, but complete.
— Rumi
The older I get the more comfortable I become (most of the time) with my own imperfections. I feel great compassion for the wounds and the shadows as well as admiration for the love and beauty. We are, each and every one of us, both/and, perfectly imperfect.
The lessons that I am learning at this stage of my life are surprising me. They are about acceptance, letting go of control, embracing the present moment, and living with loss. I feel so blessed to be here now no matter what challenges the coming years bring.
May you walk in beauty.
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