Making sense of the shadow

New year reflections

Wherever you are in your journey today, it's true that you have had some amazing experiences. As we move into a new year, it's common to reflect on things that happened in the past year and contemplate what changes we want to make in this one. Some things from last year we may hold as good times and others as bad times...the sacred dance of light and shadow.

It's what our mind does. It puts things into categories to help us navigate the events of our lives more easily, signaling us to grasp for what we love and resist what we don't. But does this strategy truly help? Grasping for what we want and resisting what we don't sets us into an endless and tiresome struggle inside that wastes our energy at every turn. There is another way.

Life's natural flow

Nature teaches us something useful—that life involves dualities—times of birth and death, growth and shedding, happiness and sadness, movement and stillness, light and shadow. We see day turn to night turn to day again. We see trees sprout and shed their leaves. We see spring flowers blossom and wither. We watch the ocean tides go in and out. We witness storms and rainbows.

Clinging to one side or the other of life's natural rhythm limits our experiences which thwarts our capacity to gain true wisdom. Experiencing both sides of this rhythm shapes who we are and who we become. Knowing both sides allows us to hold things in balanced compassion within ourselves and in relation to other lives, and offers us opportunities to connect and love more authentically. This experiential wisdom is important to our spiritual maturity and evolution.

The sacred dance of light and shadow

We inevitably find ourselves at times standing in the light and other times standing in the shadow. Neither can exist without the other and neither is dominant. Living in a bubble of clinging to what we love and resisting what we don't sets us into an internal struggle that can't be won, for we will always live in a balance of both light and shadow. The key is to appreciate what each experience offers us.

The sacred dance of light and shadow is a blessing if we allow it to be. It teaches us to find stability on shaky ground, calm in disturbed waters, and grace when the sky falls. We can do it. All we have to do is see beyond the earthly, physical messiness into the infinite space that contains the whole of life to find the one constant that resides at its core—unadulterated love.

An expanded perspective of light and shadow

These moments of our lives are precious and fleeting. Like the Sun and the Moon, light and shadow dance with each other in a powerful, harmonious flow. This is the nature of us. This is the nature of our sacred life.

When we find ourselves experiencing the light parts of life, we can appreciate and enjoy them more for having also experienced what it feels like to stand in the shadow. And when standing in the shadow, we can trust that the light will return. There is a powerful quote from my dear friend Nate Long "Owl" that captures the essence of the light-shadow dance we live in:

"The truest lesson then is to know that all shadows are formed by light, and that joy and pain, as partners, shape the fullness of our lives. As individuals, as a community, and as a world, we are each a critical part of the overall sacred balance of the universe."

What a beautiful concept to consider—that each and every one of us plays a critical role in the sacred balance of the universe. This is nothing to stress about. It simply acknowledges that we make a difference just by virtue of being who we are born to be. That's powerful energy to filter our life choices through, isn't it?

What great wisdom to carry into this new year. May you create one of the best years of your life journey right here, right now, in 2025. As always, remember that if you change nothing, nothing changes.