Sunday, January 16, 2011

Opposites

When God created the earth, he separated the day from the night, the light from the darkness. What is that supposed to mean? How could he have separated them if they are the complete opposites of each other? Well, when you think of a desert, what do you usually think of? Dry, hot, barren, dusty, etc. But what happens to that point of view when there is a small stream running through that desert? Well, the extremely fertile, yet dry soil is provided with a source of water, and soon after water is introduced to this soil, life begins to flourish. How is it, that when dry and wet are put together, we get an oasis of life? Sure, the rain forests are full of life. But not like this. Enemies can come to this little spot of water, and become mutual friends. By searching for the same thing, and having found it, they have established a mutual need. And what about light and dark? Is darkness, as a student said, just an absence of light? Or do they, when put together, create something much more amazing and beautiful than ever imagined? Yes. With light, we receive the majority of what we need, such as water from storms, wind to move our ships, and plants to provide us food. In sunlight, we do most of our work, play, and basically use up all of our energy. Then what? If we have constant sunlight, the heat grows and grows until it is unbearable. And so, darkness is needed to create a state of equilibrium. It lets the earth cool, and allows us to sleep and restore the energy used during the day. Males and females. Oh how different they are. And yet they are extremely similar in many ways. And when you put these two together, you get life. Pain and suffering? Put them with joy and happiness and the good is made sweeter by experiencing the bad. A great loss gives way for great gain. Flying inevitably requires landing, working requires rest, and life requires death. So, is it also reversible? Does darkness require light? Does water require an absence thereof? Does pain require joy? Does landing require flying? Does rest require work? Yes. They still work. So why is it, that when something inexplicably good and beautiful comes into your life, that you must lose it? Why is it that when you lose something inexplicably good and beautiful, that you must slowly collect that good which is required? Why slowly? Why is it that it must come this way, when with the other things, the exchange of opposites was almost instantaneous? Who knows. And why is it, that in many cases, there is no good to counter the bad, or no bad to counter the good? How is it that this cycle of opposites can be broken in some places, flawed in others, and perfect in the rest? Why is it that people can give and expound wisdom to those in need and confusion, yet when they themselves are confused and in need, they cannot heed their own words? Who knows. Too many contradictions and hypocrites in the world for anything to make sense.

2 comments:

  1. Sometimes the greatest delight is to be found in the gray area between opposites. We prefer the mellow mornings and evenings over the brightness of the day or the darkness of the night. We prefer the mild spring or fall over the heat of summer or the frigid winter. We prefer living in temperate regions rather than in arctic or tropical ones. We like to drink soda which is both sweet and a little bit painful. When we play, we still like it to be challenging.

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