Shadows are an inherent, indispensable part of us—the reality that shows the difference between light and dark. It is the connecting link that bridges the gap between those two extremes.

A shadow is something indescribably complex yet simple in regard to its completeness, pureness and loneliness.

The idiom fair-weather friend doesn’t even begin to describe those shadows that give us company through the light and leave us in the depths of darkness.

The shadow’s existence is a question in itself. It walks with us at all times when we don’t need it and leaves us when we feel a need for it. Pain, suffering, hatred, agony and all kinds of negative feelings lay hidden in it and walk alongside us.

Those negative feelings don’t have any place in the light of hope that lay hidden in the form of shadows during our times of darkness. So-called bad times ambush us and get the better of us. But the reality is that we let have it out ourselves, perhaps unconsciously. The shadows get us at times when we weaken ourselves.

So it is said, “Keep your face towards the light and the shadows fall behind you,” which means that if we direct ourselves towards the bright side, the negative feelings won’t get the best of us. And they can’t walk along with us through the shadows of darkness.

- Jha is a Plus Two student at Trinity International College