Shadowlands

I am capable of great self-deception in, well, just about everything, from my weight to my worries. I think we’re all victims of great deceits in our lives – but this is about me.

It’s a confusing landscape to navigate through, this thing we call reality. Much of what we’re certain we see with heart, mind, and intellect are merely shadows and illusions.

As I look at it, it seems like my perceptions of just about everything are being called into question – is this a problem facing me, or just a blessing in disguise? Are my relationships what they seem to be, or is there something hidden from view? Is there more to life than what I’m seeing before me?

As I get older, I realize that so much of my life has been lived in deception, believing the shadow rather than the substance. Sure, a lot of this deception is from the outside – advertising, government, manipulative people.

But if I’m being totally honest with myself, most of the deception is homegrown, from inside my own heart. All too often I choose to believe the shadow, the illusion, the deception rather than seeking the substantial, the real, the true.

It’s just easier, for one. Truth-seeking and Light-seeing are hard work. But I am also so steeped in the shadow, that it’s hard to distinguish the light any more. It takes an extra effort, a step outside myself, a willing awareness.

A choice must be made – believe the shadows that surround me, or the Truth that’s in the Light.