Masterpieces

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"All the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow. A happy life is not one filled with only sunshine, but one which uses both light and shadow to produce beauty.".... Billy Graham

The contrasting of dark against light highlights everything in a way that benefits the whole picture. Once upon a time when I looked at a landscape I focused only on the sunny spots. Sunbeams are a passion of mine. They signal hope to my soul, but that is not all there is to the world. Tunnel vision is too limiting to willingly wear blinders once you have a clue of all you are missing. And thank God I have a clue.

One sunny day my husband called me to our big picture window to point out how the sunlight was making breathtaking shadow art with our trees. The image was so hauntingly beautiful that it is still vivid in my memory today so many long years after its reality. He is gone now, but the lesson remains.

It instantly taught me a very valuable lesson about point of view. Narrow sight robs you of so much. The light was brighter and the dark was made beautiful by their contrasting shades. Life is like that too if you bother taking the time to think about it.

If I had not lived through so many years of shadow I would value less this wondrous time of pure light. If I had never known a heavy hand I would not glory in the gentle one that strokes me now. I am made happier now by all the sadness I once experienced.

If I had been given every victory on a platter of silver how would I know how to survive defeat? If easy was all I had known then hard would do me in without a fight. I thrived in spite of the agony and it made me stronger than I would ever have been without the brutal struggle.

Trial by fire either makes ashes of you or forges you stronger than you ever imagined possible. Being cremated before death is not something anyone should be satisfied with experiencing. Fighting for the right to be happy is a war well worth any risk.

Lessons hard-learned stick with you forever. Next time you are fighting what seems like a losing battle take heart. There really is a light at the end of the dark tunnel. But if you give up at the point of your darkest hour all you will have is the dark place where you lost heart. Fight on, even if the battle ends in some sort of loss it is not a complete defeat if you refuse to act the victim. And as always.... think about it.... let it ride.... then decide!!!!