When you hear people talk about our shadow, they're usually not meaning that dark silhouette that follows us around whenever the sun is out, but rather all the obscure, unknown, uncharted parts within ourselves. Our shadow is the unexplored or secret places within us that we keep hidden or don't give light to.
Usually, when something painful or unpleasant occurs in our lives, we have 3 options:
Accept it.
Sit and wallow in it.
Find a way to improve it.
The invaluable purpose of these challenging moments in our lives is to instigate change. The shift that occurs when our aversions goad us to move, is similar to the pulling back of a pendulum - how ever far we delve into the dark wastelands of ourselves (the depth of our pain), is the exact distance we will swing back into the light of consciousness. It is a pivotal turning-point toward empowerment and peace.
Whenever I think back to the rebellious, young girl that helped give shape to the woman I am today, my heart swells with gratitude for her courage to walk so deeply and defiantly into the darkness, so that now I may know the other side of things with equal depth and intensity.