Today’s Mandala
Complement
“The union of opposites,
— Stefan Zweig
in so far as
they are really complementary,
always results
in the most perfect harmony;
and the seemingly incongruous
is often the most natural.”
“Opposites are not contradictory
— Niels Bohr
but complementary.”
“To express a marriage
— Vincent Van Gogh
of two complementary colors,
their mingling and their opposition,
the mysterious vibrations of kindred tones.”
Today’s MotD reminds us that, as a rule, neither side of opposites is bad/wrong, they actually complement each other. As in this mandala, yellow and purple are complementary colors. When blended they make a muddy brown. But when used side-by-side they complement each other. And even though they blended together in some of this piece, that seems to work as well.
Our challenge becomes recognizing the opposites within ourselves and how they work as complements to each other, they are powerful forces within us that are often in opposition to one another. From PsychologyToday.com “It is in the creative synthesis of these opposing forces that we grow bigger. Examples are inner masculine-inner feminine, power-vulnerability, distancer-pursuer, freedom-responsibility, structure-free form, space-closeness, teacher-student, image-authentic self, the myth of independence-the romantic myth, and death of the old form-rebirth.“ Also consider: ego-subconscious, asleep-awake, dreaming-daydreaming, etc.
It also behooves us to find balance in the opposites that exist in our day-to-day lives. From Carl Jung, “The sad truth is that man’s real life consists of a complex of inexorable opposites – day and night, birth and death, happiness and misery, good and evil.”. It’s up to us to choose to make it a battleground (opposition) or we can choose to work with it (complementary).
We are encouraged to consider Carl Jung’s concept of holding the tension of opposites as presented by Gavin Conochie from of The Art of Embodiment:
“Whilst the two sides of a dilemma can appear to be irreconcilable opposites, at their heart they are one. In a genuine polarity, one side cannot exist without the other: up and down, happy and sad, male and female…to be in this world is to be part of the realm of opposites. Eventually, rather than feeling compelled to make a choice, we learn to stand in a place of equilibrium where we are able to include both points of view in our understanding. In doing so, we expand our sense both of ourselves and of what is possible for us. This kind of unexpected resolution gives us the opportunity to experience the underlying unity of life. With it comes fresh courage and a greater energy for living, and a reminder that we are all part of something bigger.”
— Gavin Conochie
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
btw…started with this and a shimmer view:
Mandala of the Day 