Magic, shadows & seasons.

The days are getting longer where I live. I have noticed the quality of the light is different. The light, as it interacts with the earth, feels different to me. As the sun sets I find the shadows are not quite the same as they were in the winter. When the sun set on a clear, cold day in the winter the shadows would stretch for eons. Their reach felt farther and more dramatic as they extended out touching objects many meters away.

Now I notice the shadows mid day when the sun is directly overhead. They are smaller, sometimes nonexistent, contracted and small. On these bright, warmer, longer spring days I bask in and appreciate the sun and it’s warmth. But I think about those, long reaching shadows of winter and how they are different from the spring and summer shadows.

I know it is all angles and physics and astronomy. I know the “feeling” of the light can be explained by the shifting of the earth and the sun and the subsequent changing of seasons. But when I don’t think about the science it feels a bit magical.

I like this kind of magic. Magic that results in feelings of whimsy and awe and amazement. Sometimes I think that kind of magic is severely lacking in our world today, in my world anyway. I think I might be happier if sometimes I set aside the science and think more about the wonder. But I digress.

What I wanted to reflect on today was the idea of shadows and reach and our hearts. I was imagining what a winter shadow would like as the sun shone on my heart versus the hot summer sun and it’s shadow directly underneath.

What if the reach of the shadow was a reflection of the reach of my heart?

What if the length and breadth of the shadow was a way to see how many other hearts or lives I had touched? And also, what if there were seasons in my life when I needed to be more like the summer shadow and contract? Perhaps there are also seasons in my life when I am able to expand and extend the reach of my heart? What if, while I was in the summer season, all contracted and small and self-contained, I felt the love from a winter heart reaching out from afar, providing strength? I like this idea, it also feels a bit magical.

If I were my own best friend I would remind myself to think about where my heart is today. Am I able to expand, extend, and help others? Am I in a season of contraction and strenuous self care? Can I look back on my life and see the different cycles or seasons? What would the shadow of your heart look like today?