Out of the Shadows...

Out of the shadows and into the light.

Back in the days of ancient Greece, Plato wrote about that, coming out of the shadows into the light. If I remember rightly, he was talking about the step you take when you leave behind a life of ignorance, blissful or otherwise, and emerge into a world where you actively seek knowledge and enlightenment.

Plato likened this to starting off your life in a cave cut off from the wider outside world. In this cave you sat and watched shadows playing on the walls of the cave. These shadows were your entertainment and only source of knowledge and somehow this was enough to keep you content.

Then one day you decide that watching flickering shadows wasn’t enough, you need something more in your life. Without knowing exactly what it was you wanted more of, you walk out of the cave.

And so begins your journey.

Out of the cave into the world outside, where there’s light and shade, width and depth, knowledge and what comes after knowledge. It’s all a bit much at first and you will be blinking a lot as your eyes adjust to being in the light. There’s a lot to take in outside the cave and it will be tempting to return there, to the safety of the shadows inside. You can turn back, or you can embrace this wider world with curiosity, growth and trust in yourself.

What will you find out in the light, when you leave behind whatever is keeping you in the dark?