Finding Light in the Shadows
By Elizabeth Wantz
13 May 2008
April 5, 2008
A philosopher once said that the world needed evil to cast a shadow on our Earth to make contrast and allow us to see things the way we do. In a photographic sense then, I suppose I am grateful for world hunger, AIDS, war, and the lunchroom bully. Without shadows, our world would be nothing but a giant white expanse lacking character, personality, or beauty. It would be boring. We would no longer see the patterns of bark on the trees, the pout of a woman's lips, or the shadow of the hawk flying above. We would walk on without seeing definition or style. No finger puppets dancing on the wall from the rays of a flashlight, no charades behind a white curtain. The shadows in our life, the evil, are what make us whole and give us depth. They are the substance of our very being. They provide interest, individuality, attraction, and fascination. Without them, we would be nothing.
April 8, 2008
Do you think people ever embrace their evil? No one runs away from their shadow, in fact it is impossible to do so. It is a part of you that you cannot remove. And no matter what you have done in your life, your shadow always remains the same. Serial killers have no proportionally larger shadows than 5 year old boys who stick frogs in the teacher's desk. So is everyone's evil just put into a giant pot and divided evenly among the human race? Is that how the world is balanced, by giving a nun the shadows of a terrorist?
April 11, 2008
What if shadows encased us? What if evil was a cage that controlled our every movement?
April 13, 2008
Is it possible to shade yourself from evil or is that hypocritical? We shade ourselves from the sun thereby casting shadows onto ourselves, so does that mean we invite evil into our lives? It seems to me that a person can't have too much good in their life, and yet at times the sun can become so overbearing that seeking protection is inevitable. As a human race are we so incapable of living good lives that we have to protect ourselves from the damaging effects of the light? We use all sorts of manmade products to shield ourselves from the rays and yet we depend on those very same rays to maintain our existence. A balance of light and shadow is necessary for a healthy life. Perhaps evil shouldn't be so completely banned from our society's morals after all.
April 14, 2008
Light is the cause of shadows. The light hits an object, which in turn casts a shadow. Without light, there would be no shadow. Without good there would be no evil? That means in order to truly banish evil from our world, we would also have to banish good. Is that possible? Can we live without good and evil? What would be left? Or maybe, it is us we need to banish. We are the objects that stand in light's way.
April 15, 2008
Can we escape from under the shadows? Are we able to look out from under their grasp and find the beauty that lies beyond? Even the most overpowering shadows can contain light so magnificent as to take your breath away. A large part of the beauty in our lives is made up of shadows, so it would follow that the larger the shadow you are able to overcome, the greater the light is waiting for you when you emerge from the darkness. Do not be afraid of these evils lurking in your path. Embrace them and see where they can take you and what they can show you farther down the road.
April 16, 2008
They say that history repeats itself. That all wars and events happen time and time again. If we learned from history, they say that we would not have all the problems we do today. Can we also learn from shadows? They too repeat themselves.
April 17, 2008
Shadows cross our path every day. For the most part, we take no notice and cross right over them. If we treated our suffering the same way, perhaps evil would no longer exist. If you don't pay attention to something, is it really there? Or does that just make the problem larger? Would shadows and evil soon consume our entire world without us ever realizing it?
April 18, 2008
Shadows are at times manmade. It then follows that mankind also causes evil. How strange that we cause our own pain and misery. Is it intentional? Is it a defense mechanism? Perhaps we do it to save ourselves.
April 19, 2008
Shadows, like people, are never alone. Is there safety in numbers for shadows as well?
April 23, 2008
Perhaps shadows are a good thing. They provide balance in a world that would be lost without them. With no shadows there would be no time, no depth, no relaxing shade underneath a willow tree. Poets would lack inspiration, and lovers would lose their hideaways. Can a little bit of evil really save the world?
Thanks for letting us know!
Thanks for voicing your concerns. Rest assured, we take it seriously. We'll look into it and take any appropriate action.
