When the shadows get long

Posted byPatrick WhitcombPosted inUncategorized
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When The Shadows Get Long


Towards the end we look back.  At the end of anything it’s important we reflect.  As a child I remember my favorite time was summer.  No school, no work, no place to be.  I would wake up early and have a sense of having everything in front of me.  At the end of these days I would walk home.  As I did I would look at my shadow.  Sometimes on the road.  Sometimes on the grass.  Sometimes in the woods.  When I looked at my shadow it would be much longer than it was early in the day.  This was because of the setting sun.  Early in the afternoon my shadow was short.  It felt great.  I had already enjoyed so many things and yet had much of the day left to do so much more.  Now late in the day I would feel a mixture of sadness and fulfillment.  Sad the day was done but fulfillment of all the things I had accomplished.  But I knew tomorrow was another day with many new things to experience. This theme would play out again and again in my life.  Not just in the days of summer but at the end of monumental moments.  Elementary School, High School, College, the end of a sports season or career. Now as I look back on my life, I feel the same sense of sorrow and fulfillment. As our shadows get long, we wish happiness for our families and loved ones.  Some think we get soft.  Maybe we do.  The drive for accomplishment gives way to understanding and empathy.  I will always be thankful for the time I have on this earth.  I won’t look back and say “I wish I would have done this or knew that.”  I know my days on this earth are limited and the shadows will change throughout.  I look back at the time spent with my Mom and smile.  I never wasted an instant with her.  I always told her exactly how I felt.  I never left the house, for college, or town, and her last night in the hospital without letting her know what she meant to me.  I tell my children and grandchildren every time I say goodbye that I Love Them.  This is an understatement but words can not express the amazement they have brought to my life.  I don’t see them as much as I used to or would like to and that is my own doing.  This should never be mistaken for what I want with or for them.  As they grow and have busy lives of their own I want to instill in them the importance to living each day, each week, each month, and each year to the limits of our spirit. My wish for them is to chase that dream.  Make it happen whatever it takes.  Stare that long shadow in the face and say now that the day is over thank you for what you have taught me.  My wish for them is to fight with passion and respect.  My wish for them is to love with passion and respect.  My wish for them is when it comes time to say goodbye, do it with passion and respect. But, as you get ready to say goodbye, look back.  Look back at your life and ask yourself this?  What do I leave behind?  I want to leave a thought! A thought of what if?Instead of dreading each day, what if we make it an adventure?  A day filled with hellos, smiles, and listening.  Listening to others as they make their way through life.  Listen with a sense of sadness that they don’t have our life.  I am amazed at what a truly wonderful place this is that we get to walk among greatness, even if only for a whisper of time listening to the voice of eternity.  I hope that when all of us watch our shadows get longer, we do it with a sense of satisfaction and not regret.

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