Tag: Shadow


by Gundula Welti
08 Apr 2020

Bucephale

cheval

Bucephale, the horse of Alexander the Great, initially seemed to be untamable. Not even the best horsemen in the realm could mount him.

Alexander wanted to understand the reason why the animal was so skittish, and – after studying his movements – realized that Buchephale was simply scared of his own shadow. When he saw his shadow he’d try to get away from it, but of course the shadow moved with him and scared him even more.

Alexander’s solution? He turned Bucephale’s head to face towards the sun so his shadow was behind him, out of sight, and he was then was able to train him without risking life and limb.

«Don’t be scared» is useless advice, particularly if you haven’t found and addressed the origin of the fear. If that is the case, even well-intended encouragements won’t help.

And you? Have you given yourself space to look closely at what is really happening when you get scared, to find the shadows behind your fears?



by Gundula Welti
06 Apr 2020

Lights, action!

http://bullesbygundula.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/hands-1926414_640.jpg

Life consists of light and shadow. There is no light without shadow and vice versa. When something unpleasant happens to us, we try to understand what we can learn from the shadow it casts.

We try to find the light.

There are people who make us light up, others who dazzle us and others who put us in the shade. Our guides and mentors light the way for us, they share their knowledge and pass on some of their light. They come into our lives and leave us a little brighter.

Then there are those who like to shine and others that dazzle us with who they are or what they do.  All we see is the huge shadow in front of us produced by such a radiant light behind us.

It’s not always easy to tell the difference between the two, and we can learn from both. The question to ask yourself is what do you see after spending time with one or the other. Do you see more of your shadow or do you feel a bit brighter?