The evening has come, my friend, and with it we shall peel back the layers of the Shadow surface. I have shown you the tip of the iceberg but we must delve deeper into the frigid waters for you to truly see.
Now breathe deeply and center yourself to this moment.
You are here and the time is now.
The universe is constantly in motion, my friend. From the orbit of planets and moons to the bird building its nest next to the waterfall. When things are in motion, change is inevitable. We see positive changes like a good harvest or food to a starving family, and negative changes such as a car crash, or war. The point being, change can be predictable or unexpected, random or unavoidable, yet will never cease to be.
The Shadow have recognized this as a powerful element in their desire to remain harmonious. This is why we aim to find balance within ourselves so we may better adapt to the ever-changing world. And that is what is most important, the ability to adapt, to roll with the punches, to find peace within the storm.
The question is, how?
There is no be all, end all cure to surviving that storm. I am not going to sit here and tell you about some sort of ancient ritual that will save you from yourself. Peace is rarely ever perfect and the road to it can be arduous. But, once one understands how to maintain their inner balance life becomes more instinctual and not so forced. It becomes easier to remain and think when faced with adversity of any kind.
The Shadow have developed tenets or tools to aid them in the pursuit and maintenance of their ability to adapt. At first they may appear to simply be words that hold a meaning appropriate for our usage, yet as we begin to dissect each tenet, and as we have all ready learned, my friend, a single word can hold great power and meaning once the point of view is brought to the correct scale.
Each one of these tenets has a connection to the overall goal of balance and each is equally as important.
The first I am going to address is the tool of awareness. This is the ability to focus completely on the moment and to see, to be aware of everything that may and can occur. Gaining this sight requires the utmost discipline for one must harness the skill to control their attention. You remember the night you first arrived, my friend, and I spoke of emptying the mind and how it was incredibly difficult to accomplish? The tool of awareness could be seen as complimentary. With awareness you are meant to fill your mind with the moment. Not only us here, my words, your thoughts but also the crackling fire, the storm outside, the comfort of your chair, the smell of wood, tea, dinner in the oven and more. With this tenet you are unhindered with nagging thoughts of the past or pondering of the future and you are completely dedicated to the here and now, the present moment. With this tenet, my friend, you aren't libel to miss out on much.
Moving from the concept of awareness we are confronted with our next tenet, perception. This ideal is extremely important to address because as we become more aware of the comings and goings of our surroundings we must be careful of how we perceive, and to a greater extent, why we perceive the way we do. Perception is based heavily on the recognition of archetypes, inherited modes of thoughts or ideas stemming from our personal life experiences and couple with our familial and societal upbringings. As one perceives life through their archetypes their view is choked and tainted, and sometimes even restricted to a reality that is of a subjective nature. Yet, as Shadow, we discipline ourselves to move beyond the archetypes, to pull away the veil that alters, and see in a more objective manner, to see reality in a very real sense, unhindered and raw.
Why, my friend, would we want to do this? Because decisions made based upon past experience could damage oneself or others, such as revenge.
With that thought in mind we arrive at the third tenet and the final topic of discussion for the evening, mindfulness. This is a very difficult concept to build toward and cling to, and some could even consider it hypocritical. Yet the Shadow view it more as an ideal to hope for and accomplish because of our discipline with the previous two tenets. We have come to understand and accept that we are human, and humans make mistakes. To err is human, to forgive is divine, my friend. With the concept of being mindful in any given situation the Shadow hope that with the abilities of awareness and unhindered perception they are able to make the decision that would be most appropriate in concordance with the moment. Yet we also know that variables can shift in that moment and one must know when to act and when to hesitate. With the concept of mindfulness we aim to avoid a situation where the right thing was done for the wrong reasons, and vice versa. The final point to make with this tenet is, the correct action to some will be the incorrect to others and the Shadow must decide what action is appropriate for what situation, and hope, hope that the repercussions will not be too costly.
The Shadow have recognized their humanity and desire to make the best of it.
Now, my friend, do you see how each tenet connects to each other and how they all stem back to aiding in the framework of our inner balance? Of course there are many concepts and ideals and details that further aid us in the quest for balance but these three are to be held with great importance.
Let us take leave and dine, and rest, my friend.
Tomorrow, we shall move forth.