"Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it?"

Henry David Thoreau's quote speaks to the concept that everyone has a shadow, both physical and spiritual. The physical shadow is a reflection of the body, while the spiritual shadow is a reflection of the flaws of the spirit. This spiritual shadow is a source of sorrow for the individual, as it follows them no matter which method they turn. The shadow is short at twelve noon and long at night, a suggestion of the ever-present flaws of the spirit. Thoreau's quote is a pointer that everybody has a shadow, and that it belongs of life that need to be accepted and welcomed. It is a reminder that all of us have our own flaws, and that it is necessary to acknowledge and accept them in order to move forward.