State of the Garden

In discussion of erudition and spirituality, much use is made of the metaphor of light. Light takes us out of darkness, reveals the truth of illuminated wisdom, is the truth, is pure consciousness, etc.

When I noticed the shape in the sidewalk pavement culminated by a shadow, I found myself thinking that we cannot fully experience light without shadow. Not because we cannot understand something (e.g. good) without experiencing its opposite (evil), but because absolute light blinds us to the point of destroying the ability to see even the light. We need shade or dark sunglasses to see what is differentiated when the sun is at its most glaring.

Just as the stone in the photo would not be revealed as a heart but for the shadow crossing it, so too, we cannot know the deepness and authenticity of love or spiritual teachings and practices until we discover that we can stay true to them through challenge and adversity. The shadow does know, just as the light reveals.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.