“i would know my shadow and my light.so shall i at last be whole.then, courage brother, dare the grave passage.here is no final grievingbut an abiding hope.”
these words were written as the man was dying. he was the husband of an acquaintance of mine. i don’t know his name. she gave me a photocopy of his hand written words as we sat together in a group willing to go deep within and consider the growing into elderhood.one of the sacred tasks of the elder is to look at our mortality…our inevitable death. this is practice over time…unless we run out of time, of course.
to look now, in small glances or directly with eyes wide open, is a task and a gift. it is a gift we give ourselves. with each glance, each contemplation, each bit of increased willingness we come closer to wholeness. we can then see/feel/touch/taste/hear the human condition.our consciousness expands and our heart can open. compassion arises, not only for ourselves but for all beings. each of us is born and each of us will die.to know our shadow and our light allows us to integrate, to complete the cycle of life.
it also allows us to love.