Light creates images we see. Light is the energy that uncovers the world in front of us. Whether it is street lighting, store lighting or bathroom lighting, we rely on it to find see what is around us. In order to Progress lighting, is used to illuminate the way along the journey. What often gets forgotten are the dark areas. Without shadows, without contrast, the world becomes flat and depth perception becomes impossible. The same truth governs our internal lives, the dark patches are part of what make up a personality. It is often what hides in the dark that forms our lives and determines many of the choices we make.

In film the director of photography creates beautiful images using light as the brush. He or she is consumed with light ratios, the amount of dark to light. A night time scene would have greater ratios then a scene during the day, creating near black areas of the screen. Daylight scenes would still have areas of contrast, but the shadows would still hold visible objects. It is an intriguing question when applied to our internal lives, what is the light ratio? Are we unaware of the details in the shadows of our soul or can we see enough details to know the nature of our selves? If our internal world was nothing but bright light, would we be able to distinguish between the light and dark in another soul? Should we even try to dry out all of the dark?

Any story worth telling will be filled with conflict. A film about happy people doing happy things in a happy world is not a compelling or interesting way to spend a couple of hours. We are interested in stories about people trying to overcome obstacles. In most good stories about heros, the hero has a fatal flaw, an Achilles heel, or kryptonite. Many of the greatest films had flawed protagonists and villains with redeeming qualities. From The Godfather to Avatar, we want to watch characters that grow and change, confronting their limits in thinking or feeling and rooting for them. The general attraction is based on our own struggles to overcome the obstacles that every life faces.

There has never been a person who has walked the earth that hasn’t been challenged by obstacles, either internal or external. The majority of people will say that facing these shadows has brought them character and compassion. Whether the shadow we confront is created by grief, fear or insecurity, it is often these dark encounters that bring depth to our lives and make us wise and hopefully happier.

When the shadows are embraced and we no longer hide our perceived flaws or vulnerability, then we are able to be fully who we are. By facing our shadows, we often realize the light that brings us joy.

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