I thought after my mom died that I wouldn’t ever have anymore days when I would look back on my life and think that everything, I knew was wrong, but I realized today that it’s part of life. As I grow older, I realize that as I change, so does the world around me, and the more I think I know the less I really do.
I always loved the idea of Plato’s Cave. This idea that I was destined to see these shadows on the wall, but that one day, I would be released from the cave, and I would be able to see reality. When I first read the work, I thought that of course, I could find my way out of the cave and see the world for what it really was. Now that I am an older woman, I finally realize that Plato made a simple construct to describe a complex situation.
In life, I constantly find myself seeing shadows of reality. Perspectives of what other people tell me and teach me. Perspectives of what shapes my world. My own bias and my own growth shapes who I am and my own reality. As I progress through life, I might understand some shadows and recognize them for what they are, but honestly, I’m never going to see reality. The most I’ll know is the idea of when Plato described being able to see the fire and recognize that the shadows were just shapes projected on the wall. I am coming to the slow realization that when Plato talks about finding the way out of the cave and seeing reality, he is talking about death.
When I rejoin the universe and go home again, then I’ll “see” the reality of things. Until then, everything I see are just shadows and constructs that help me make sense of the physical world. I’ll keep having these moments of realization discovering that I was completely mistaken about what the shadows represented. I’ll keep having to move on from those lows knowing that it’s part of life.
It’s okay. Nothing in this physical world is solid. Nothing is constant. And the only thing that I can really count on lies far outside the physical realm. Tonight, I pray in thanksgiving for all the blessings and love that God has given me and I ask for Him to give me continued strength and courage to embrace my life and to grow in understanding and love for Him and all my brothers and sisters.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
