We, my wife and I, are traveling in Ecuador with the Tren de Libertad from Otavalo to Salinas. Before we rattle over the large arched bridge, there is another breather for the train and a photo stop for the tourists.
We get out. It’s very hot. The sun is high, hardly a cloud in the sky.
The train conductor has also gotten off and is inspecting the situation.
“I don’t believe this! Where’s his shadow?”
In fact, it is absent. Or more precisely. The train conductor stands perpendicular to it. You can guess it in the picture. Fascinating. The person without a shadow. We try it out and it applies to us too. It’s 12 noon and we’re very close to the equator.
My test of courage is yet to come. I have to get over this gorge on the train and look into the abyss. I’m not free from giddiness.
My wife laughs. “Well, then you just have to jump over your shadow. And that won’t be difficult for you here. Because it’s not a big leap now and here.”
Jumping over one’s own shadow (“über den eigenen Schatten springen”) is a German idiom. And that’s when you’re faced with a situation that you want to master, but don’t really dare to do it yet.
➡ Do you know a phrase for such a situation in your language? Or is it even the same, 1:1 translated?
For me, at least, one thing has become clear. I choose the place and time for my situations to be mastered in such a way that my shadow is not too big and the jump is therefore not so difficult for me.
Thanks to Miriam Anna Umhauer for a recent post here (https://lnkd.in/eAvPsPbw), which was inspiration for this post.
If you are interested: I accompany executives who are on international assignments or like to clarify issues in intercultural situations.
