Orthodox Parables and Stories: The Shadow of Fear

Once in a village there lived a man overwhelmed by fear. He was afraid of his own shadow and ran from it. While the sun was shining, this man could not stop, because the faster he ran, the faster the shadow ran behind him. Only at night, when the shadow disappeared and he thought that no one else was chasing him, did he allow himself to stop. But with the first glimpses of the day, he began to run again. The time has come when this man fell to the ground and died.

The villagers decided to bury him in the shade of a tree and asked Elder Nestorius to come to the funeral to pray. The eler came and before the burial said to the living: "This man was overcome by the spirit of fear. He spent his entire adult life running from his own shadow and therefore squandered it. Our fears are like shadows. As we keep running from them, we can never stop to find out what's really chasing us. If this man had stopped and looked closely, perhaps he would have laughed and said, "What kind of person am I running from my shadow?" No one can escape it either. 

This does not mean, however, that the shadow is stronger and we will never achieve victory. It simply means that there is no shadow, which means that there is no question of winning. You can't beat something that doesn't exist. Why does fear have power over people? Because they forget that fear is just a shadow we cast as we move forward in life." When this person was buried, a headstone was placed on his grave. Then Elder Nestorius added: "Look, the tombstone is in the shade of a tree and does not produce its own shadow. Similarly, when we are in the shadow of the Lord's wings, we can always be free from the shadows of fear.