Truth is always paradoxical.

"The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it."

Bertrand Russell

This past week, I've come across quite a few examples in Nature of the co-incidence of opposite qualities: lake-ice that looks like frozen waves, hillsides with some trees frosted while others remain free of ice,

and alpine landscapes dozing in shadow with just the topmost peaks radiating in ruddy alpenglow. 

These phenomena remind me of the fact that If there's one thing I've learned about the nature of truth, it's that it ALWAYS is paradoxical. Even on the most basic level of physics, we see this principle expressed in the fact that - although everything appears solid - it is actually 99% empty space. In meditation, we realize that even though our thoughts and emotions - especially afflictive ones - appear dense enough to cause stress and put knots in our stomach, they are actually echo-like in nature. And in mystical theology, we realize that even though all things are grounded in a Divine Source, that Source is mysteriously emptied out (Greek: "kenosis") into the process of biological, psychological and spiritual evolution. I love the sense of surprise that a paradoxical universe provides! Who needs science fiction? We have enough wonder right here on this planet to last an eternity!

Photos: (Top) Frozen waves on Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; (Second and Fourth) Frosted and unfrosted trees, Big Thompson Canyon, CO; (Third) Alpenglow on Long's Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. All four photos were taken on January 9, 2015.