Beauty Requires Opposition
“…beauty requires opposition.” -Jeanne Mackin, The Last Collection
In great works of art, opposing elements create novelty and interest: chaos and harmony. Shadows and light. Rough and smooth. In proximity, these conflicting facets in a painting generate a bubbling tension, slowly pushing us out of our comfort zone while intensifying the work’s impact. It leaves a lasting impression.
So it is in life. The tension of paradox lingers. Seeing, as we do now, through a glass darkly, we do the hard work and make space for opposition. To live a life of beauty, embracing opposition is valuable.
To embrace contrast is to read between the lines, really seeing - and accepting- the rough patches, shadows, and pockets of chaos in life. Will we press into the sharp edges of conflict alongside the smooth curves of deep friendship? Grasp the light of hope as it bumps up against the shadows of suffering?
A both/and proposition: two opposing things can be true at the same. That which is rewarding is also the most difficult. Intense love often courts deep pain. It’s the constant calculus of the human dilemma, lived in the space somewhere between the now and the not yet.
The points of sharp contrast in life, the tender places, push us to dream and shake us out of our complacency, creating new meaning. Points of divergence, though unsettling, can be a friend.
As one who lives in a state of ambivalence, I would rather run, resist, or hide. But what if I, what if we welcomed the opposing elements of our lives as an opportunity to grow, rather than a problem to be solved?
If we allow and step into those seasons full of light and darkness, chaos and calm, how will we change? Cultivate creativity? How will this internal shift shape the way we engage with God and one another in community? How does this acceptance of life’s tension contribute to the pursuit and creation of beauty through the work of our hands?
How have the pain points of your life forged unexpected beauty?
