Opposites are needed to reveal one another.

How would we ever come to know and appreciate Autumn - as well as Spring and Summer - if there were no Winter? Similarly, how would we feel emotion unless there were also a ground of stillness underlying it, allowing for the contrast to occur? How would we ever discover our own vision if we didn't have people to contradict it? How would we embark on a spiritual search if our parents were always perfect, our friends always faithful, and our own personality always living up to our deepest expectations? How would we be creative without the fuel of suffering? And how would we ever appreciate the need for solitude if we didn't live in a bustling society? Like it or not, opposites are continually needed to reveal the depths of one another!

Photo: The golden leaves of a Narrowleaf Cottonwood contrast beautifully with fresh snow adorning Douglas-firs; Poudre Canyon, CO; October 18, 2013

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