C O N T R A S T S

Our world is full of contrasts. All of us know this. We see them, sense them, hear them, experience them, feel them, and even smell them. They are fact. Contrasts can be both beautiful and ugly, enrapturing and repulsive, or simply mundane. However, they are almost always noticable. Often, we don’t give contrasts too much thought because they are so common. It is only when we stumble upon the more sublime contradictions do we take greater notice and our attention is drawn to them longer than a few seconds.

The limestone rock which rests on the deep blue lake floor at an obscure angle.

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The dancing flames encapsulating logs in a fireplace.

The bemused expression of this adorable, multi-colored canine.

When I consider contrasts, I see vast multitudes of them in nature, people, photographs, music, wrtings, colors, liquids, solids, gases, galaxies, human acheivements, failures, and the list can continue unabated for pages upon pages. However, for this musing I have selected three images. The contrasts between each one are obvious, and the longer one studies them the more numerous they become. And, yet, they have a common thread about them.

Familiarity.

STONES

Visited a part of Kansas City, Missouri the other day…hadn’t been to this area for quite some time. The above home is Tiffany Castle, built in 1909, from native limestone. This structure is young compared to a plethora of the world’s architectural treasures, but it is still impressive. Worth the visit to view it and adjacent houses of like materials.

What comes to mind when you recognize the word STONES ?

Rock. Hard. Strong. Building Block. Tool. Weapon. Table. Cliff. Escarpment. Fjord.

Petrology: Igneous; Sedimentary; Metamorphic.

Brief History: Two stone tablets; Five smooth stones; Millstone; Cornerstone; Capstone.

Quips: Hard as a rock; Dumber than a rock; Heart of stone; Rock solid; Stone cold.

People & Things: Rolling Stones; The Rock (actor); Stony River; Fortress; Cairns; Grand Canyon; Victoria Falls; Petra; Parthenon; Stone Hedge; Pyramids.

Thought: When the heart is like stony ground, no seeds of hope are allowed to sprout. Only when the hardened crust is broken loose can a sprig shoot forth, penetrating what was once thought impossible. Hence, the reason farmers use plows to breakup the fallow earth. It is a process I have learned from, and much to my chagrin, continue to repeat. There is hope.