On Shadows

Alex Braggs
Nov 5 · 1 min read

The strange thing about shadows is that they don’t, contrary to popular belief, portray us not as we truly are, but as we wish to be. Our brains fill in the darkness with details. In looking at my shadow, just for a moment, I am consumed entirely in myself out of satisfaction. I see a priest, a teacher, a poet, a soldier, a leader, a business man, and a believer. In my shadow I see purpose. How ironic that shadows exist in relation to our corporeality but gain meaning from our perception of our “true selves”. I suppose the realest thing in this world to us can be our own shadows, extensions of the selves we truly are, and yet we perceive them as so much more. If only I perceived myself as I do my shadow. It trails behind.

Alex Braggs

Written by

Writing Through Myself