How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light. Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams
Comments (28)
Answers. There are never any answers. We just have to accept that fact, and move forward in our lives. Although we would like to stop… to pause and take a break… time does not – but it would be nice.
nice window pic … interesting phrase … no answer for it though … points to ponder with, huh!
aloha from hawaii!
I have always wondered when I would be grown up.
I have always wondered when I would be grown up.
Oops! Sorry about the double post!
Oh, there are answers alright. It’s the questions to them that don’t really need to be asked.
My mother has a window like that. It made me sad, that pic. I don’t know why.
great quote for the pic!
Indeed.
Should I go jump off a bridge now?
Wait, there’s a yellow light, there’s hope!
Sorry, that’s the mood I’m in today.
I love this, Molly. Both the photo and the quote. Very “grown up” philosophy, for sure. As for living in the midst of the ugliness….that’s why it’s not called Heaven. And anyway, there is so much beauty in this vale of tears to help us through.
I saved this one to put in my Art folder. Care to tell us where this lovely window resides? Your house?
Mom, this was taken when we stayed in Kingston at a friends house. It had beautiful woodwork…not sure how old. This lead glass was breathtaking, and I don’t know if you can tell from the photo, but it bows ~in~.
Cool window. Sad quote.
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There is so much in our minds that we never know and suddenly a glimpse of something..someone else is there and we do not know from where we come.
The darkness in oneself is no different than the light. It is all the same. To accept oneself and the universe in total brings peace. It is like the waves in the ocean. Which one is better? Are the troughs better than the peacks? Are the white ones better than the dark ones. Are the big ones better than the small ones. It is how one wants to lead a life. It is all the same. Maybe it is just a game?
Awesome!…beautiful pic
…
there are always answers
xx
Perfect words of sandinmyshoes
There’s light in your picture, so let us open the door
BBofLight/BBofDark … I chose to focus on Light
Really like the lines and color in this photograph. It convey a very somber, almost gothic feeling.
Contradictions create tension, and without tension life would be boring.
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. “
>>Sophia Loren
“Once an experience becomes fused with an irreducible sense of self — and this is inescapable — the impulse to rationalize its ‘contradictions’ replaces the impulse to act rationally and looks, to the one doing it, like the same thing.”
>>Vivian Gornick, “Return of the Repressed,” THREEPENNY REVIEW, #66, Sum 96
I think that wrestling with the darkness inside us is a part of life, a part of growing up… and it makes us appreciate the time when we see the light.
Nice picture.
No need of “wrestling” …
And we shoulnd’t take it so seriously, like sandinmyshoes puts it, may be it’s just a game… At the end (if there is any), we are all winners.
Accepting the dark, feeling it deeply if necessary, let it go by will and fill the place with Love. There is always something nice around or inside of us to be focused on … A life’s job
…love this photo with quote – the yellow of sunlight in the midst of darkness! Enjoyed reading the quote – enlightening.
MuSe
…ah yes, I do notice the bow in the window, thanks for mentioning it. Hmmm, suppose a gust of wind blew before sodder was set? or an errant ball?
Windows are so cool to photograph. They symbolize a sort of passage, a new view. They are so cool…
Haunting coloration.
Mmmm… I’m struggling with all of that now.
Words for thought and I like the window.
i really like the mood of the image, the lighting. Something about it is really nostalgic.