Shadow Dancing With...
Photo quote de jour
When I was a young art student one of my favorite quotes was by Carl Sandberg,"The past is a bucket of ashes, so live not in your yesterdays, nor just for tomorrow, but in the here and now." I hadn't thought about that quote or its author for a long time, but the words seeped into my head this morning as sooty as real ashes. I could taste them in my mouth.
The other day I'd photographed my old barn with the rickety old chair. For the past couple years I've been documenting it's gradual decay as an metaphor about time/aging. I had to keep moving to keep the sharp shadows out of frame. The shadow was me and since it insisted on intruding, finally I let it. Another Carl, Carl Jung, the psychologist famous for coining the term "shadow side" kept intruding in my thoughts. I had wanted to keep things light today, to post a happy T.G.I.F image but no, the ashy past needed to be spat out, or at least placated with a mint.
Our shadow side is the dark rejected aspects of ourselves, all the parts that are repressed and unconscious. We all have a Shadow side and by exploring it, by shedding light on it, we learn about ourselves. I learned today that when the shadow side asks me to dance, I'm going to say, yes. The first thing the shadow side requires is taking responsibility for our actions, for everything in our lives. No easy task, but when we shift from blame to taking responsibility, we begin to free ourselves.
The other day I'd photographed my old barn with the rickety old chair. For the past couple years I've been documenting it's gradual decay as an metaphor about time/aging. I had to keep moving to keep the sharp shadows out of frame. The shadow was me and since it insisted on intruding, finally I let it. Another Carl, Carl Jung, the psychologist famous for coining the term "shadow side" kept intruding in my thoughts. I had wanted to keep things light today, to post a happy T.G.I.F image but no, the ashy past needed to be spat out, or at least placated with a mint.
Our shadow side is the dark rejected aspects of ourselves, all the parts that are repressed and unconscious. We all have a Shadow side and by exploring it, by shedding light on it, we learn about ourselves. I learned today that when the shadow side asks me to dance, I'm going to say, yes. The first thing the shadow side requires is taking responsibility for our actions, for everything in our lives. No easy task, but when we shift from blame to taking responsibility, we begin to free ourselves.
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 1/22/2010 11:03 AM 
Categories: Photography, Art
Tags: Shadow side Carl Jung shadow Carl Sandberg
Categories: Photography, Art
Tags: Shadow side Carl Jung shadow Carl Sandberg
This struck a chord both dark and light.
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Welcome to the dance.
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What a terrific photo, and I just love the metaphor. Oh I wish for reverse time. But failing that, I'll just make believe.
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You might as well, time is an illusion
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Good point.
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The first thing that went into my mind when I saw the picture was bigfoot. Ok, it's just me being weird. I have no clue why I thought of that and I'm sure it has nothing to do with the lovely lady who took the picture. I guess it's just my own shadow playing tricks on me.
Speaking of the dark aspects of the mind, water is also symbolic of the subconscious mind ("deeper mind," "dreaming mind") and relates to the thoughts we have in relaxed/meditative/sleeping/subconscious states. I agree with you that we all need to explore our shadow side so that we can come out of the water and breathe fresh air... the air of truth and wisdom. Awesome post, Layla!
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I just dropped by your Blog from a friend's blog. You are an amazing writer. Well written.
Sorry to say this, but at first I got the spooks looking at the picture. The shadow was scary. I even turned a couple of times to make sure nobody was behind me... lol
Anyways, loved your say on time and aging. Well, they happen all the time and we just need to live our lives to the fullest.
Have a great weekend...
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Layla-another wonderful, thought-provoking post. Full of subtle insights. Love the quote and the photo. Hope you don't mind, but it inspired me to write a new aphorism:
"Our shadow side. When we dance, it has to dance, too."
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Nothing inspires me more when I inspire others. I love your new aphorism. I just might have a photo to go with it
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