We are living in & out of the shadows.
We are living in & out of the shadows. Shadows of who men want to be and the men we think we are. My friend reminded me of a book I read years ago. "Turning Pro" by Steven Pressfield. I recollect it like a dream, fuzzy, trying to remember some details and maybe what I felt when reading it. I recall some profound things, mainly the differences in how an amateur lives his life and a professional, the distinctions between the two. When I was reading the book, I had my head so far up my culo, trying my best not to be a wallowing ass*&%$ about a rough breakup. So read, keep the mind moving like the body; it helps.
Steve writes about a shadow life or career; it is explained here "We live in denial, and we act by addiction. We pursue callings that take us nowhere and permit ourselves to be controlled by compulsions that we cannot understand ( or are not aware of ) and whose outcomes serve only to keep us caged, unconscious, and going nowhere. The shadow life is the life of the amateur."
Reading this and understanding this is very different. Interpreting it and seeing where this applies while living your own life is another thing altogether. The job I have right now is and have been doing for five-plus years is my "Shadow Life." I reread that chapter recently. It all still rang true, I didn't deny it, and I was nodding my head and smiling and then shaking my head at the scout sniper's accuracy of it. If you are self-aware at a high level, your denial will also be. Note, to know your "Shadow life," you have to know what you truly love and what your calling is. I have always wanted to be two things, one a warrior: I did that. Two an artist, I am still a better warrior than an artist, more time under tension, more time putting in the work. My plan is in the works, and I have one and read it and adjust as life and god will have you do.
What great shadows do we live in? Following our calling is living in the light. The light is warm and good, and men will sweat when the work begins. The shade is cold and dark, telling ourselves we live here because the light can burn us, it is dangerous, that much light. It is safer in the shadows. So they say.
What are your plans?
What is your "Shadow life"?
What is your calling?
Have you asked yourself out loud?
Do you dare even whisper it?
Do you have the plan and will to pursue it?
Read the book for yourself, see what you make of it. Pause and see what questions arise from your belly. Seek knowledge & grow strong.