Shadows that haunt us

 There was once a man who was haunted by his shadows. He was always very conscious of his shadows. He wanted to be free of it. He hated that he left a shadow and a footprint everywhere he went. His sole purpose became to be free of his shadows and footprints.

He rose one morning and started to run as fast as he could thinking they would leave. The shadow and footprint kept on following him no matter how fast he ran. He was very frustrated by this. He grew tired and went to sit in a corner that lacked daylight. He noticed that his shadow was gone and as he sat still there were no footprints either. He was for once calm and wanted to stay. The longer he stayed he realized that the corner could never be his dwelling place.

The man realized one thing from all this experience, he could never be free of them but accept them. Hence, he got up and started walking toward the sun, the shadow, and the footprint stayed back and he walked with comfort free of the haunt.

I sometimes find myself running away from my shadows like this man. I become very conscious of my past, haunted by mistakes and disappointments. I want to erase them and clean them off, but they are always there. I try to run away from them as fast and far as I can but always run short. When I choose to stop and hide for cover like the man, all my shadows and footprints seem to be gone. I think to myself if I stop doing anything maybe then I will be free of mistakes and disappointments.

We have all felt this feeling at some point in life. We wish we could go back in time and correct our mistakes. We say to ourselves if only I had another chance. We shake our heads and beat ourselves up. Every day the thoughts get stronger as we our shadows, the regrets go deeper, and we grieve.

Written history can never be corrected as our pasts are engraved onto a stone never to be removed. We can only learn from them and move on. The man finally decided to walk towards the light leaving behind his shadows and footprints. That is the choice we should all make, to leave our pasts behind and walk towards the future.

Shadows are cast ahead of us when we walk away from the light. When we are focused on our past all we can see are our past mistakes and regrets. Just as the light is obscured, so is our sight and thought. When we walk towards the light, however, we leave our regrets and pasts trailing behind.

What I ask you of you today is to forget stressing about your past and to stop being haunted by your regrets. It will never be rewritten or corrected so let it be. Face the light and forget about your past. Walk towards the light, towards the new, and the many possibilities that lie ahead.

     Be all you can be.✌

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