I often think about Plato's, Allegory Of The Cave. Just got back from working on Dickson Street in Fayetteville and I thought about it all the way home. It's 4 am in the morning and I have an ASVAB test to take tomorrow for the Navy... Still... My hearts restless. So share this thought with me.
In short, Plato's allegory tells the story of these prisoners stuck inside of this cave... shackled and facing a wall in a manner where they've only seen reflections of shadows due to a fire behind them. To them, these shadows have become reality... These shadows have become truth...
Socrates, who was Plato's teacher, begs the following idea: What if one of these prisoners was unshackled and allowed to see beyond the shadows. Allowed to walk beyond the cave...
This prisoner would have to fight what he has known as "reality". This prisoner would question everything he was experiencing due to what he has always known. This prisoner would have to adapt to the brightness of the light outside of the cave. Once he did, he would then have to learn the harsh reality that... all objects cast shadows and their shadows are only visible echoes of what they actually are.
Imagine the trauma. Imagine the adaptation required. What would that prisoner think of the sun? After knowing only the shadows of a small fire? To empathize with him is overwhelming. Imagine if this prisoner tried to return to the cave and convince his fellow friends of what he's seen. Imagine what they would say. How he would feel in their rejection. Imagine the loneliness that would follow. Imagine the ignorance on their part... What if you were the ignorant one?
We all stare at walls that display small shadows made from small fires. We all ignore people who know different than how we have grown to perceive things. We often wish people would listen to us after seeing bigger lights cast not by fires... but by the sun itself. In the end, the only thing we can do is learn from what the darkness has tried to take from us personally...And seek larger forms of light that extend beyond small fires. All of this while being prisoners ourselves.
Let that resonate.
