SHADOWS I'm always amazed at how cold, human beings can be to each other. A freindly dog will nearly always evoke a response of love and affection from strangers, but humans are feared and suspected of all manner of evil. We spend our lives looking to each other for fullfillment yet keep our own hearts under lock and key. We humans are very special creatures. We are the children of the mind. Even the word "MANKIND" is decended from the sanskrit word for mind, "MANOS". We are unique among life forms. We contain all the elements of the animal with the potential of the angel. We are the mind that meets in the middle. Above our mind appears the angel and all that we hold most noble and good. The highest values and dreams of the race come from above. Our morality, art and even love itself seem to shine down from the angel, extending our reach to the infinite. Below our mind appears the animal and all the dark rememberance that we would rather not face. The body can feel like a prison that limits us at every step. We are never quite fast enough to chase the dreams our minds create. Often we lock ourselves away from this aspect of life, pretending ignorance to pain, fear and the stink of our own excrement. What is it that we realy want for ourselves. What gift would magicaly transform our lives from pain and loneliness to the mythical happiness we desire. Most people who would tell you they seek happiness couldn't begin tell you what it is. We know unhappiness all to well, so often we seek only a change from what is happening now. We stumble off into the world again with the expectations of the angel only to arrive where we began, smelling the familiar stench of animal refuse. Because we refuse to admit the animal in ourseves, we take great offense when we see it in others. The mind stands in the center as an observer of the inner war between the higher and lower nature. There cannot be war in the outer world unless there is first conflict in the inner world. How often do we play the parts of meek and gentle lambs only to hide the anger and venom within. The potential for horrible attrosity is in every heart alongside the potential for perfect love and healing. How often do we scorn the evil in the outer world while hiding our own animal in a dark den of pretense. The mind holds the angel and the animal apart for its own reasons, afraid to lose its authority, fearing the death of its special perspective. We fear to let go, as if the world would stop spinning but for our constant medling. Happiness is not something we can gain, it is something we are. To find out who we really are is to find joy at the source, but how can we know ourselves fully when we pull ourselves apart, each to remain a prisoner in its own narrow realm. Unlock all your doors. Throw open all your secrets to the light. When the sun is at its zenith there are no shadows. When we accept ourselves fully we will find that the monsters we saw in our closets were only imagined. B.E.