As I was driving along a lonely highway late one summer evening, I had to laugh at the shadow projected in front of my vehicle by the setting sun. I began wondering how the creator of the character, Shrek, came up with the visual of his flat headed, square eared Ogre. It could have been while charging away from the sun in an SUV with this unusual shadow, and in his mind drawing the Shrek character, followed by several hours of plotting his adventures.

My shadow makes me smile as it is such a playful thought to consider a shadow. Seeing Peter Pan battle his shadow did not make sense to me as a kid, though it looked like fun. Who does not laugh at seeing a skinny 15ft shadow from a low sun in the sky? Ever examined the strange shadow made while wearing some kind of hat with a sun which is high overhead?

Unfortunately, a few extreme behaviors have given shadows a bad rap, an evil twist to cause fear and anxiousness. The best way to overcome that is to remember to fun things about them, and the good memories which were had.

Making shadows with a flashlight is a great game. I am not good at these, but with long fingers crisscrossed in odd ways one can create shapes which resemble animals. What is flashlight tag really about? The shadows formed from the street or house lights. The most successful escape artists moved in the shadows. I had a dark blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants which helped me blend into the shadows. The bottoms of bushes were very dark if one could move to the quietly enough. My biggest problem was not smiling and giving up my position with light reflected from my white teeth.

Shadows are great, but only if you are looking, and there is no better day to be looking than on a Happy Friday. Remember to subscribe on the Perspectives page.