Our Opening Ceremony

The Cave and the Journey to Light

Imagine this…

A group of people have lived in a dark cave since birth, bound in place so they can only face one direction. Before them is a wall, and on this wall, shadows flicker—shapes of people, animals, and objects cast by a fire burning behind them.

These prisoners do not know the fire exists. They do not know there is a world beyond the cave. To them, the shadows are reality. The whispers and echoes that bounce off the stone walls are the only voices they have ever known.

But then, something extraordinary happens.

One prisoner is freed. At first, he stumbles, his limbs weak from being bound for so long. As he turns, the fire burns his eyes, and he recoils in pain. The world outside of shadows is too bright, too unfamiliar.

He is tempted to turn back—after all, the cave is what he knows. But something deep within him stirs. A curiosity. A calling. And so, step by step, he moves forward.

As he emerges from the cave, the brilliance of the sun is blinding. Everything hurts. But as his eyes adjust, he begins to see—really see. Trees, rivers, the vast sky above. He sees colors he never imagined, feels the warmth of the sun on his skin, and for the first time, he understands.

The shadows were never reality.

Filled with this revelation, he hurries back into the cave, eager to share what he has discovered. But when he returns, stumbling in the darkness, his words sound strange to those who have never seen the light. They laugh. They call him mad. They refuse to turn their heads, unwilling to believe that their shadows are mere illusions.

He urges them, pleads with them—“Come with me. There is more than this. There is a world beyond these walls.”

But they are afraid. The idea of leaving everything they know is too much to bear. And so, they remain.

And he… he must decide. Will he stay in the cave to convince them, or will he return to the light, knowing that one day, others may choose to follow?

The Deeper Meaning:

This story is about all of us. It is about waking up. It is about stepping out of the illusion of conditioning, limited beliefs, and false narratives into a greater truth.

It is about the pain of growth—because awakening is not always gentle. It can burn, it can disorient, and it can make us long for the comfort of our old reality. But once we have seen, we cannot unsee.

And it is about the loneliness of transformation—because not everyone will understand. Some will reject us. Some will cling to their shadows. And yet, we keep walking.

As mentors, healers, and way-showers, we do not force others into the light. We hold up a lantern. We say, “There is another way.” And when they are ready, they will step forward, just as we once did.