Shadows
Who hasn’t
chased shadows? As children, we turned around in wonder at that black figure
trailing behind us, miming our every movement in silence. The long and short
shapes it took under the blazing sun often reminded me of the distorted mirrors
I once saw at an exhibition where one stretched me into a ribbon, another
shrank me into a balloon. I still remember the excitement of making strange
figures with my hands and body, watching my shadow religiously imitate every
antic.
I loved
riding my bicycle fast just to see the hair of my shadow fly in the wind.
Sometimes, I would loosen my grip on the handlebars and lift my arms wide, only
to watch my shadow wobble and tumble beside me. There were no inhibitions then
— no fear, no restraint. My shadow loved following me everywhere, and I loved
its company. I never felt alone.
But as we
grow older, we begin to neglect that constant companion. Instead, we find
ourselves chasing more elusive shadows. Our principled selves, burdened by
hesitation, doubt, and fear, pursue shadows of wisdom, truth, integrity and
relationships - things that slip away the moment we think we have finally
grasped them.
At times, I
feel ignorance and freewheeling innocence are blessings in disguise. A child
enjoys being in the company of his own shadow, knowing that it can neither
speak nor reciprocate. Growing older, perhaps, is a deprivation of such
effortless emotions. We abandon the familiar black shadows that once faithfully
followed us, only to spend our lives chasing the pale, colourless ones far
away.
And perhaps
that is why childhood lingers within us like a shadow to comfort us, never
fully leaving us, only stretching farther as we grow. We should understand that
wisdom lies not in chasing shadows that flee from us, but in learning to walk
beside the ones that never left.
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