Tail of the Shadow

Walking in to work this morning I noticed that my cast shadow had something hanging off of it - turned out to be my bracelet from Victory of Light - the gummed end stuck on my ass.  That got me thinking about shadow.......

I spent a lot of time as a kid pondering my shadow.  I blame Peter Pan for that one.  I became kinda obsessed with the idea of losing it the way Pan did.  I was intrigued by how it changed shape and size in a way that I did not (or did I?), how that copycat always did what I did, how I could throw shadow bunnies and gators on the wall using a lamp.  What can I say, it was the '60's and I was an investigative child.  I understood that these were not actual bunnies or gators, the same way that gummy bracelet that looked like a shadow tail was not a tail. 

I thought about how I might have walked around all day with that fluorescent green tail if I had not glimpsed it in my own shadow.  That seems a good message for the day - that the things that need removed, need changed, are most easily viewed in shadow.  None of us see the shadow part of ourselves when we are blissed out and happy.  It's like standing outside at high noon when your shadow is at its smallest - almost none is visible.  But when things get hard and we react or get reactive, when we are in the place of our shadow, things are so much easier to see.  Like the late evening or early morning - the time of long shadows - where a shadow seems to stretch to the horizon and the viewing surface is maximal. 

I find that I can't do the work when I am in the soup.  But I can give a nod of acknowledgement to say I see you and I will deal with you very soon.  I know there will be a time when things calm and as I move back to the place of joy I will generally be able to yank the fluorescent tail off of my shadow self.  Even if I don't, I have gained a bit of an advantage in knowing those shadowy bits are there and can at least understand why I act the way I do sometimes.