Shadows or Sunshine?

"You are the only shadow standing in your own sunshine." 

 

It's a great quote, isn't it.  Not something you would expect to hear on Top Chef.  We were catching up on the show tonight and that was the last line of the person who packed their knives and went home.  Sorry, Fabio...I'll miss you!

 

Anyway, this line got me thinking.  Do I stand in my own sunshine?  Do you?  Is it ok to be the shadow sometimes?  I mean, everyone has a bad day, right?  And how long can you be a shadow before you only start to see the dark and no longer see the sunshine? 

 

Funny enough, I had a long phone call this afternoon that raised all of these questions in one way or another.  I didn't have the answers then.  But now, after thinking about it...here are my answers.  You are the only one that can stand in your shadow...but how long you do it is up to you.  Without shadows, we wouldn't appreciate the sunshine, we would take it for granted.  If you can see your shadow, you can acknowledge it, appreciate it for what it is and then move it.  You may have to sit down and take a break to remove your shadow.  But sometimes, you might have to reach for the moon so that your shadow is stretched so thin that you can only see the sunshine.  

 

And if you love someone....tell them when they're a shadow.  Then help them find their sunshine.