Shadows Prove The Sunlight

By Alis Cerrahyan

Written as a sequel to her first book, Dance Like Nobody's Watching; Shadows Prove The Sunlight is also a memoir that depicts the author's challenges during a highly eventful life and her humble narration of how she overcame her very own mistakes-  and not just to barely survive them, but to bring forth the best results with which she hoped to provide her children.

Her claim to success is all about having established a relationship with God after renouncing all man-made dogmas and so-called religions, just so she can worship God freely. She believes one doesn't have to be an extraordinary person of character to walk through life with flying colors. Instead; he or she must undesrtand, believe, and learn to receive the unconditional love God has for his Creation.

This amazing chronicle will help the reader unveil their own past until sufficient truth emerges and becomes the stepping stone toward a healthier life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alis Cerrahyan
• Release date: May 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393898771

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Curiosity is my middle name. I happen to have many questions about everyday life; questions that revolve around the right and the wrong; queries about the things that may or may not be politically correct; what interferes with peace and what doesn’t. Everyone feels the need to unveil some or the other hidden truth for his or her cognitive gratification. Which generation hasn’t queried the condition of the world in which it lived? When has anyone totally understood a famine that claims thousands of lives ever so gently? And the multitudes that are wiped out in a fraction of a second by natural disasters? Have there ever been satisfactory answers to the wars and the bloodshed that have taken place in the past?

I don’t have any of those answers. I’m probably not done analyzing myself; let alone the universe. However, a little extra information here and there might help me to accept the things I cannot change or undo. If I can convey even one tiny message to each reader, I will be ever so grateful. In that sense, as human beings, we owe at least that much to one another. We must overcome the distance between ignorance and intelligence together with one another. Sharing ought to be a part of every cluster. Otherwise, we would not have availed the benefits of the works of great minds who contributed to science and technology, such as Einstein, Edison, Curie, to name a few. It would also have been impossible to fight mental, emotional, and physical devastations of today, had sharing not been a practice with mankind.

I believe knowledge and understanding are extremely important contributors to our constant evolution. Together, they decorate the mansions of our minds. Though ornate, colorful, and suitable for any task at hand, they still prove to be somewhat dull and limited next to our imagination. That’s where our interests, fascinations, and visions remain mysteriously hidden, until we are ready to connect to the unfathomable domains of within and of the distant universe. Those faculties sync us with all kinds of unfamiliar spheres. Within these fabulously complex foundations, we find plenty of room for growth and accomplishments. Yet, there is also enough allowance for setbacks.

Once we manage to establish a harmonious communication between our intellect and our spiritual awakening, we feel as though we have stepped into a world abundant with unlimited resources and probabilities, where everything is possible. Yet, all our results still depend on how willing we are to walk the remote territories of the unknown. The answers are always a part of the search itself. The problem arises when we embark on a journey to look for the answers without having fully grasped the question.

We find the respective answers to many questions on time, leaving the unresolved ones in a somewhat mysterious state. There are no perfect replies for those who interrogate life’s circumstances with the questions What’s the use?, Why bother with tedious details when you know full well that adversities are inevitable?, or How many hardships would one person need to tackle in order to ensure a secure passage in his or her lifetime? Trying to respond to other people’s inquiries is like wanting to go for a swim in a desert. That is the reason why I focus on myself first. I might then be equipped to tell someone what helped me during a similar situation that they might be in.

The most recent question that I have been pondering over is: Are pain and suffering necessary to attain contentment? If so, then contentment must simply be a sigh of relief. However, is it possible to lead a life of contentment? Is it possible to cherish what I have – the good and the bad – and be okay with it? Those who have been curious about topics like these will not find the answers during a smooth sailing kind of life, where the calm and toss-free waters of mermaid existence are quite enjoyable within the depths of the sea, where it is not necessary to put up with its rough surface. In fact, the very circumstances that demand us to seek growth or mastery will eventually quench the yearning for further understanding. They will, in due time, extinguish all perplexities they may have created, once adequate wisdom is attained.

There are those who may choose to blame a tragedy, a divorce, or a childhood trauma and decide to roll over and play dead. There are others who, because there's no such a thing as an easy past, may remain grateful for the simple fact that they survived a sizable obstacle. It is one of the ironies of life that, although we find entertainment in reality shows and their dysfunctional families, we have zero tolerance for our own. We award those for their sorry existence and tune in to witness more disgrace, at the same time preferring to turn a blind eye to our own problems. We choose to walk away from those who should matter to us the most, when a simple effort is all it takes. We disown family members because they get on our nerves. We leave our valuables behind the moment handling them becomes a bit challenging.

Division and subtraction have become today’s preferences, when we have been given specific instructions to be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 1: 28). Those words were spoken to human race on the sixth day of Creation. And if we pay close attention; we’ll see that a different generation was not to be treated any differently. Those were the same exact words spoken to Noah and his sons after the Great Flood (Genesis 9: 1). I believe they apply to us today as well.

Anything that turns us against this initial assignment according to which we are to operate and make progress is of the evil origin. It cannot possibly help us move past obstacles and attain completeness in a world filled with obscurities. My words are not meant to do away with the hurdles and the uncertainties we all are bound to experience every now and then throughout life. I’d like to suggest, in a kind manner, that we were supposed to walk through the darkness and learn from it instead of claiming it as our new residence.

I have earned the right to utter these words, simply because I’ve traveled through many tunnels and swum through many rough waters. My experiences may not have been as dark and tumultuous as someone else’s; but they were harsh enough for me. In fact, it isn’t just the severity of the circumstance that teaches us something of value. It is our willingness to learn something of value during those times of pain and despair.

CHAPTER 1

The recent generations don't have serious calamities at which they can point a finger. They didn't have to make great sacrifices during the World War I (1914–1918). They didn't endure the ten miserable years of the Great Depression (1929–1939), and they certainly didn't have to survive through the World War II with all of its atrocities (1939–1945). Most people today don't even know what hardship really means. The dictionary explains it as severe suffering and privation . Should there be a different definition for those who lived under Mao's regime (1949– 1976) that left sixty million dead in China? What about those who couldn't escape the hundred days of slaughter during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, not to mention today's Christians who are being oppressed and killed all over the world for practicing their faith?

Acts such as the crashing of planes into buildings at a time when they are packed with people or executions of suspected criminals by beheading them are certain confirmations of the presence of evil and the heinous, depraved, and inhuman nature of people. Can we or should we turn our backs on these intentional acts that reflect nothing but sadism and bloodlust? Such undeniably repulsive and horrifying deeds shock the civilized world, because there is no depth or limit to which the extremist groups that execute such acts will not sink to satisfy their ungodly goals. Yet, they seem to gild their acts as if they were making a sacrifice that would please their god.

Everyone is aware that targeting non-

combatant civilians couldn’t possibly satisfy any god figure. It would only add fuel to the idea of terrorism, which is the use of violence with an aim to achieve either a political or a structural change. This idea is often the recourse adopted by those who are desperate to attain a purpose that they know cannot be conquered by conventional means. People wouldn’t resort to terrorism if they could win elections. Yet, the saddest part of the entire concept of terrorism is the fact that most participants believe that joining such a movement offers social and psychological rewards. Such acts of violence might help them give a way to their personal issues with anger and bitterness, but they could never alleviate their intense disillusionments about certain social rights to which they seem to feel entitled. It is a mental capacity – or the warfare of the weak, if you will – that ends up manipulating even extremely stable-minded individuals, causing them to disregard their sense of empathy in service to their beliefs and goals.

Carl Jung defined the shadow as the unknown, dark side of the personality of a person. According to the psychologist, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognized as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. These projections act as a constantly thickening veil of illusion between the ego of the people and the real world that they live in. This is what lies underneath the idea of terrorism that has become the modern-day version of bullying. Except this time, whether it is a physical attack or a cybercrime, it has no limits. Terrorism is no longer just a sick game of intimidation. It has transcended the fear of death. Killing is all it wants to do. On account of the widely spreading technology, this world is now a shadowland, a reservoir of human darkness, where the wrong poses as the right, and consequently, the right appears to be the wrong.

Every religion and ethnicity has experienced periodic episodes of brutality and cultural reversals. The Truth, whatever that may be, shapes each individual differently, and in some cases, its potency may even dominate devotees until they’re addicted to its hold. That’s when they end up making the ultimate sacrifice. As we all know too well, it is a challenging task to get rid of addictions. They are destructive until we start fathoming their multilayered hold on people, be it at the mental, emotional, social, or spiritual level. As some individuals resort to certain destructive habits in order to conceal their own pain, they also choose – indirectly – to be controlled by the same pain. So, at the end, dying for a cause one may not quite understand sounds far more impressive than living subjugated in a dungeon of indignation.

Many generations before us faced various forms of terrorism that were rampant at their time. There is nothing we can do to make up for their disappointments, nor should we even be bothered with such a huge responsibility. Turning back the time or erasing what they went through is totally out of question. However, we would fail them considerably if we don’t learn from the challenges that they encountered. We can try to understand how they coped with the mortal fear at the psychological level and managed to muster up the intense determination required to prepare themselves for dealing with it for another day. Did they strengthen their will to survive the horror by finding joy in the small things in life? Or did they find comfort in easing the pain the devastation caused for someone else? Are there levels of enlightenment we’ll never be able to reach, since we’re not in their shoes, which I pray we never will be? However, we must respect their journey enough to take great strides of our own as mature and healthy grown-ups.

Fight or flight response applies to anything and everything these days, without a reasonable cause. Everyone seems to have a lot on his or her plate. The fact that some may be capable of better sustenance than others is obvious. However, we don't know what hunger really feels like until the entire opportunity of being your own person goes missing for an indefinite amount of time. The pangs of true hunger are felt when we are no longer in charge of our lives. Either a tyrant, a substance, or an attitude snatches it away from us for good, forcing us to bring to the fore our individualistic leanings. In many cases, we see a person well known for his or her pious attitude go ballistic, because sudden changes can be extremely threatening. The opposite is true for a few others who remain calm and collected, as they consider changes throughout their life to be inevitable. The latter believe discomfort and pain last only for a season and equip one with better coping mechanisms for later use.

Today’s mentality is all about quick and easy fixes. We want to live a trouble-free, pain-free life. We wish for higher wages, but we don't want to work the extra hours or get a better education required to earn that much money. We envy others’ results, yet we wouldn’t want to be the door-to-door salesmen they once were, some thirty years ago. We dare look at them with contempt, because they somehow recognize themselves in us: the timid sojourners they once were. We shy away from learning more, because it entails the challenge of putting the newly attained knowledge to some use. Instead, we choose to stay on the sidelines and blame others for our should’ve been responsibilities.

I don’t ask the questions that only time and patience can answer. I already know that lessons are necessary elements for personal growth! To be honest, it is thanks to those lessons learned the hard way that I’m no longer a fragile person who fears the unknown on a regular basis. The old me perceived those as mistakes, or even punishments, but the new me sees them as opportunities from which I could learn. I would prefer an impressive legacy over an impressive tombstone any day. In fact, I don’t want a grave. I don’t even want a marker – since this is nothing but a simple journey – until I make it to my heavenly zip code.

As I’m walking through life’s all-you-can-eat buffet, I don't want to stand and examine the spread. I just want to extend my plate and say, Fill it up please. I’m hungry. I demand variety, and I prefer some spice. I want my life to have so much meaning that it’ll seem like I lived through many lifetimes. Waiting for the other shoe to drop is a victim mentality I no longer carry around. Being bold and colorful makes me visible. It is not that I want others to notice me, that is the least of my concerns. I simply want to honor the life I’ve been given and cherish its multiple facets. It has to sparkle. It has to glow, no matter what happens. This has nothing to do with how colorful my wardrobe is. It’s an attitude that comes from knowing that many previous generations paved the way for me to walk on a straight path. This is my way of paying respect to their hardships and contributions. It sure beats a nagging and complaining existence.

CHAPTER 2

Viktor Emil Frankl (1905–1997), an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor, said, We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life, even when confronted with a hopeless situation; when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph. To turn predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situation, that is when we are challenged to change ourselves. As a concentration camp inmate, Viktor managed to find meaning in the most brutal phase of life. Though he lost all of his family members to the atrocities of his