Similarly, the analogy can be made with anyone who continues to live an unhealthy lifestyle or pursue bad relationships. The image of the light is a strong one in Plato's cave story. Light symbolizes knowledge, power, and information. Light symbolizes the truth. The word "enlightenment" refers to the person who sees the light, who sees the truth. Discovering the source of light proves that the shadows are merely illusions -- the effect of light bouncing off concrete objects. The awareness that reality is an illusion is a liberating but frightful experience. For many people, enlightenment creates too much pain. Enlightenment forces genuine lifestyle changes. Using Plato's analogy, enlightenment means leaving the comfortable and familiar world of the cave.

One of the key moments in Plato's allegory of the cave is when the individual must choose whether or not to return. Socrates rightly assumes that there is great risk...

It may be far better for individuals to discover on their own the nature of reality. It is virtually impossible to force someone to "see the light." In some ways, Plato is suggesting that the effort and growing pain of returning to the light is as important as the awareness obtained. The "whole body," as Plato puts it, is required to achieve total liberation from the illusions of the cave.
Plato's allegory of the cave applies to many different situations in which people have trouble accepting reality. For example, a drug addict enjoys the temporary pleasure of a fix (corresponding with the shadows in the cave), while refusing to undergo the temporary pain to achieve liberation. Others exit the cave but do not know what to do with their newfound knowledge. Plato describes the growing pains associated from making profound changes to one's life after realizing the truth.