We are only able to feel afflictive emotions because we perceive an underlying stillness.

Beauty might be defined as the harmony of contrasting things. Here, for example, we have winter, represented by the snow on the canyon walls, and autumn, embodied in the golden cottonwood leaves. On other occasions, the presence of concave and convex curves, the balance of silence and bird song, or the various-tasting foods composing a Thanksgiving dinner - like potatoes-and-gravy lying next to cranberry sauce - embody this harmony of contrasts. When we're having an emotionally challenging day, it sometimes takes faith to understand that beauty is being expressed there as well. In that case, we can make a practice of realizing that when we feel traumatized by anger or fear or abandonment, for example, these emotions are able to reveal themselves only because they appear against a backdrop of stability, stillness and groundedness. Otherwise, how could we even feel them? In other words, stability is an innate aspect of upheaval, and vice versa. It is similar with all of the other challenging aspects of life. A major aspect of spiritual practice is precisely this ability to find beauty in all things.

Photo: Radiant Fremont Cottonwood leaves appear against a backdrop of snowy cliffs; Poudre Canyon, CO; October 18, 2013

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