Enjoy the Differences
Daily Passage
Reflections
More of the wise sayings of King Solomon today. Are all the remaining chapters more of the same? Today, when I read, I notice all of the contrasts. So very many opposites placed side by side. There is love and hate, knowledge and stupidity, favor and condemnation (2) security and the lack of it, pride and shame (4) just to name a few.
In Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck writes about contrasts, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” The idea in this observation is enjoying the total value of something when that something is missed. We go to our switches and flip and instantly we have light and think nothing of it. What happens when we flip the switch and there is no response? It is in times of outage that we are prompted to understand more of the value of all of the little things that we enjoy in life, like electricity or running water. I hear Joni Mitchell singing too, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, they pave paradise and put up a parking lot.” While Steinbeck’s is the understanding of the cycle, in winter we are thinking of the sweetness of summer that will come again, Mitchell is singing about something lost forever or seemingly so. Both writers are the same, however, in their basic observation: they both are focusing on the lack. What they once had which was so wonderful, is no longer in their lives and because they don’t have it anymore - they are aware of how valuable it was to them.
Opposites can teach is this. But it’s kind of a sad state to be in. We don’t have to live this way. I have another idea.
This year in my walks in the woods, I too observed contrasts, but, instead of focusing on lack, I noticed the beautiful difference. I became mindful of the changes in the light. In the part of the world where I live (the Southeastern United States), we experience four distinct seasons. I was taken this year as we neared winter solstice, especially by the fragile and yet beautiful light of the winter sun. Even at 10 in the morning, the light reminded me of the ending of the day. This light is weak, but still beautiful. The interplay of the long rays and the trees and vines of the woods created a shadowy dance that I enjoyed witnessing and still enjoy, and will enjoy again! And in November and early December, this shadow illuminating light hit piles of orange and yellow leaves that seemed to glitter around my feet. So beautiful! Walking in the chilled air through the trees, I was thankful for that pale light whenever I arrived to a sunny spot. I was grateful for the warmth it gave. It even inspired me to compose a poem, an ode to the winter sun, but I didn’t write it down and can’t recall it now. I remember thinking though, that sometimes, when we are not feeling our best and do not feel 100% on our game, we still have the capacity to shine out all that we do have to give, and that shine, that warmth can still be of some value to others.
In each moment, we have all that we need for that moment. If we allow our minds to stay focused on the things we have lost or do not have, we loose the moment and all that we do have. If while walking in the cold woods this winter, I only think of the summer sun, I leave the beauty of the winter unenjoyed. Focus on what we do have and rejoice in it!
contrasts
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- Sir Issac Newton
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for revealing contrasts.
I am thankful for the winter sun and all that it gives.
An give thanks all of the love in this world.
I am thankful good choices.
I am thankful right responses.
I give thanks for right actions.
I am thankful where I am in this moment.
I am grateful for life and living abundantly.
Questions to Consider
What are the contrasts in my life revealing to me?
How can I be more mindful of and more thankful for the little things around me that I enjoy?
Am I choosing to think, speak, and love in each moment?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me today. Love and light to you my friends. Namaste.