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Sunday, July 6, 2014

The Interplay between Light and Shadow

Greetings,

It occurred to me again yesterday that the things we find in nature can teach us so much about physical reality and what causes it to exist.  For example, I was contemplating a particular tree while relaxing on a hill in the park with my daughter, and how we can both see and miss the fullness of a tree's appearance.  I'll explain.

A tree (and actually everything) is the result of the light which feeds it, and the darkness from which it grows.  It is only a representation of the miracle of life, and the polarities of light and darkness between which it develops.  You can see these polarities represented by simply looking at the tree from a new perspective.

The light from the sun illuminates the tree so that you can perceive it, and the shadow behind and under the tree gives the tree "depth".  In other words, the light and shadow are inextricably a part of the tree, but we miss those things when just contemplating the tree itself.  Since the sun's light nourishes all created life, and since all things cast a shadow while in the presence of light, the sun and the shadow are also a part of all things within this reality.

By this example, we can see the forces of light and shadow, and how necessary they both are for our existence.  You cannot extricate the origin of a thing from the thing itself, because if you do, that thing becomes undefined.  All things originate from the sun itself, or from the stars, and are present manifestations of an ongoing process.  All things also cast a shadow.  Therefore to exalt light above shadow is in error, because both are necessary and must be balanced.


1 comment:

  1. Wow, that was such a beautiful observation. I'm going to print it and hang on my wall somewhere!

    I also try different views on life. I use this deck of cards based on I Ching, (they are so beautiful http://www.thetaooracle.com/). I take a card every morning and let it be part of my perspective that day.

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