Of course, with the illumination of the present, there are bound to be shadows. Each figure in your frame casts a dark replica behind them, invariably and despite any efforts to the contrary. These shadows are not to be feared; in fact, they are to be embraced. For the shadows of our present are merely the reflections of the frames of our lives. For each dark shadow we see in our days, remember that each is but a consequence of the projector. We see darkness, but within each spot of dark is the essence of something illuminated by light.
This is the way in which we live - frame to frame, image to image, shadows to new shadows. We have millions of frames in our life; of those, a large majority will pass with no fanfare. But it’s our choice as to which frames we will choose to pause upon and cherish. When our film reel is paused, and we remove an individual frame from the context of the prior and the following, the individual beauty of that moment is clear. What else is clear is the true natures of the cast shadows. What would seem dark when looked at fleetingly is actually just a consequence of our life’s illuminations.
Life can go by very fast; our film reel, if you will, has a lot of time to cover. Without our pauses, our frames will blend into each other until each moment’s preciousness is lost. It’s our right and our privilege to pause the movie. We have no way to rewind, nor to fast forward. Our film will one day end, but it’s up to us to ingest each moment heartily. When the credits roll, it’s the frames of our lives which we had paused upon that will shine in our memories the clearest.
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Use your pause button. Meditation takes only a bit of time out of your day, and it can make all of the difference when life gets ahead of you. I recommend Yoga Nidra meditation or, alternatively Vipassana. A good guided example of the latter can be found here: http://www.diydharma.org/guided-vipassana-meditation-joseph-goldstein
