Texture and Contrast November 15, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Life Balance, Mindfulness, Poetry.trackback
We have to know hunger
To appreciate food
We have to see the bad
To appreciate the good
We have to feel thirst
To appreciate drink
Muddled thoughts help us
Value the ability to think
Opposites exist for a simple reason
Everything has a time, place and season
Contrast provides our days with texture
Nothing in life is a permanent fixture
We have to experience despair
To appreciate hope
We have to experience problems
To value the ability to cope
We have to have had doubts
Before we can appreciate trust
We have to have known injustice
To appreciate what’s just
Opposites exist for a simple reason
Everything has a time, place and season
Contrast provides our days with texture
Nothing in life is a permanent fixture
* * * * *
Acceptance turns boulders into pebbles, allowing us to go with the flow instead of exhausting ourself by struggling against the current.
Embrace all with joy. Anything can be a gift of gold in disguise.
Barn’s burnt down ~ now I can see the moon. ~ Masahide (1657-1723)
Related posts: Grow in the Direction of Happiness * Embrace All With Joy * The ABC’s of Happiness * Zig-Zagging to the Zenith * Spiritual Milestones
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Thanks, Nancy. I needed that today.
May you find “gifts of gold” on your path today, Andra. 😀
Thanks from me too Nancy. It’s a good read to start my day 🙂
Sweet! Glad you enjoyed.
These are beautiful words of wisdom. I couldn’t agree more with everything you said, but it’s good to be reminded once in a while. Thanks for reminding today; I agree that it’s a great read to start the day 🙂
Thanks, Dounia, I share reminders I need to remember.
Thank you, I am off to make some pebbles 🙂 xxx
Why is it so easy to transform molehills into mountains and pebbles into boulders . . . while being far more difficult to reverse the process? 😉
Instead of blowing things “out of proportion,” we must learn the art of maintaining mindful perspective.
aah . . . that’s better!
I make a habit out of struggling against the current. Going with the flow is always the last idea that occurs to me. Thanks for this thoughtful post 🙂
What we resist, persists. When someone or something angers us, we choose how to respond. If we relax, and view the world with compassion, many “problems” fade away of their own accord . . . without draining us dry.
aah . . . that’s better!
How true this is…we often don’t know how wonderful something is until we’ve felt the pain of not having it.
And vice versa ~ we take the absence of a headache or backache for granted . . . until the throbbing pain appears.
Ah, balance – so important, so difficult to attain… Love the pics, especially the white, with its perfect reflection
Perhaps life follows the adage. . . “no pain . . . no gain.” 😀
Thank you Nancy…I have just read this to Wendy…we both loved it.
Oh, good. Life’s ebb and flow is easier to accept when things are on a relatively even keel . . . stormy waters require us to bail faster. 😉
Lovely post, Nancy, and the lotus flowers are so beautiful – and perfect as always!
Thanks, Denise. I love the many colors of lotus flowers. They seem so “hopeful.”
Nancy, this is so beautifully written. Adding only lotus flowers to this entry gives your words a serene touch.
Thanks, Marie. Nature nurtures . . . encouraging us to pause.
Another great one Nancy.
Thanks, Lisa. At times, I need to remind myself that life is a continuum of states ~ a pendulum moving us from positive to negative, pleasure to pain, happy to sad. We are in a constant state of flux . . . this too shall pass. _/!\_
A relative of an ex boyfriend used to tell us: “You have to go to come again…” Loved this post. Dark demands light, light beckons dark. Opposites are the stuff of life.
Cloudy days make us appreciate the sun. 😎
Great message!
Thanks, Maggie. “Naughty” NaNoWriMo characters make us appreciate beloved characters all the more. 😉
Opposites create the tlipsis for life. In the Benedictine world, this means the filing off, or smoothing out, of our sharp edges.
I really hope I remembered the spelling. My handbook has sunk to the bottom of some pile of books. 😀
I’ve never heard the word “tlipsis” before, but I like the idea of smoothing out a few of our sharp edges (so we don’t get snagged on the underbrush). 😉
Beautifully done, Nancy
“We have to experience despair
To appreciate hope
We have to experience problems
To value the ability to cope” – can certainly identify with this, and have even come to appreciate the textures in my life
Despair is an awful feeling. I have a quote to remind myself to swing back to hope:
“Despair is hidden arrogance . . . I have seen the future and it doesn’t work.” 😉
This is beautiful and an apt reminder about life and its many peaks and valleys…. Love it! 🙂
It’s a roller coaster, ferris wheel, and merry-go-round all in one . . . up, down, round, twist, turn, scream, shout, and laugh. 😛
My husband gets angry when our boys complain they are starving. He has seen starving people for real. We are so lucky not to have experienced that.
That’s an example of the English language and its latitude ~ many say “I’m starving” when they are merely hungry.
Lucky for them that saying so doesn’t make it so.
Pictures are not really beautiful unless they contain balanced areas of light and dark. It is the dark which stresses the light.
A beautiful poem, Nancy. And sound common sense.
Those of us who have lived long lives know how true it all is.
Thank you. John
The worlds I’ve seen with no texture and contrast may run smoothly in the absence of friction and controversy . . . but they are gray places to be: Pleasantville, A Wrinkle in Time (the planet with one brain, IT), Stepford Wives.
There is no raisin d’etre in a world without challenges ~ if we are merely “going through the motions,” we begin to resemble a hamster racing on its exercise wheel . . . and going nowhere FAST.
Oh, so true, Nancy
Thank you
John
I really like this, Nancy. So true.
You’re on an “upswing” now, Robyn. Enjoy every moment.
Splendid poem and wise words. Thank you.
Thanks! When we look for the silver lining . . . we usually find it.
I love that quote at the end. Talk about looking at the bright side (or the stars!)
Your poem is so true. I am always thankful for what I have in my life because I know I’m blessed. But it takes a setback for me to gain a deeper gratitude. I don’t necessarily enjoy going through rough times, but it makes me a stronger person.
I agree. After a few “cloudy days” . . . the sunshine of our lives seems that much brighter. 😎
we have to have choas to appreciate calmness…speaking from recent experience. Great post!
It’s been an exciting and hectic time for you! Hope the new shop is a big hit with holiday shoppers!