Holding Hands With Your Shadow!

When you turn out the lights and immerse yourself in the pitch-est of pitch, and the blackest of black, what do you see? Do you feel a chill creep up your spine, as the monsters from your childhood creep out from under the bed and rustle within the closet, or feel the warm blanket of darkness welcome you home? Do you desperately search for a guiding light, or feel your way along the walls by rote?

We're all looking for something different in the dark. Some of us search for treasure, others run from nightmares, and still others stumble blindly, groping for something to hold onto.

There's something to be said for walking alone in the dark, away from the city lights and away from the press of people, far from the glitz and glam of everyday life. You're left with yourself, your thoughts, your motion, the rhythmic beat of your heart, and the resolute inhale/exhale of breath. You can finally let down your guard, there aren't any prying eyes or explanations to be provided. You can finally reflect on yourself, as a vulnerable subject, deprived and devoid of (visual) perception. You can let your imagination tumble the wraiths and wavy shadows in the absence of light into umbral clouds, and you can feel your most basic instincts kicking in. Your hearing sharpens, you become alert, the adrenaline courses through you as a critter scurries across the path. Still, your feet keep treading, one in front of the other, and your chest rises, and falls.  Rises, and falls. You're in a routine, now, walking alone with yourself in the darkness, holding hands with your shadow.