The Shadow

by Tom Balistrieri, Director - Counseling and Student - Development

Many years ago now I learned this really crazy thing from an elder and mentor of mine. He told me that there is a great cosmic battle constantly being fought, a battle for balance between that which is shadow and that which is light. Good versus bad isn't it...that's too simple, too easy, too judgmental. The battle has little to do with good or bad...it is more than that because a shadow will fall on the good just as the light will fall on the evil.

Throughout time, around the world, groups of people have quietly but tenaciously participated in the cosmic battle. Various groups offer their thoughts and energy to the light in order to better fend off the shadow or shadows. The Gyuto Monks of Tibet sing harmonic chants, Native Americans of the plains Sun Dance for all things, Christian monks and nuns pray all day in silence or through their work - on and on. Ceremony, song, dance all created and performed to fight this crazy cosmic battle. (I'm sure there must be similar groups making offerings to the shadow side.) All of this sounds pretty silly, hah, almost like Star Wars?

Just like any campus, there are students at WPI who suffer because a shadow has fallen upon them. Maybe the shadow is having been abused in some manner, having lived in a violent neighborhood; maybe they are clinically depressed, or stressed because they can't get a damn A in a class, or maybe the cold and dark of winter has them wrapped in its shadow. What the shadow is doesn't matter...what matters is our, your and my, helping them to see some light, some hope, some caring, some smiles, some affection, some compassion.

Open your eyes and ears and heart to those around you...the squirrelly guy on the floor everyone picks on, the gaunt young woman who stands by herself with no smile on her face, the kid who always walks alone and makes a point of not looking up as you pass by, that kid in your class who never says a word to anyone, that heavy-set kid who doesn't fit in. Watch for the shadow in the young person who drinks too much, the guy who can't get enough sex from enough women, the girl who makes herself throw up after every meal, the girl or guy down the hall who cuts themselves with a razor or piece of glass, or the friend of yours who is losing weight, their ability to sleep, and their sense of humor all at the same time.

The shadow waits in the corner for anyone and everyone. No one is safe. But that elder friend of mine told me something else: the shadow hates groups of people who listen to one another, care, ask one another how they can be of help, and refuse to allow self- or other-abuse to go unnoticed. The shadow hates laughing, singing, dancing, compassion, caring and ceremony.

Oh that crazy elder friend of mine...cosmic battles. Where do they come up with this stuff anyway?

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