Both / And

We melt a little each day.

The candle burns down.

And it may wonder at times, it may wonder:

What will become of me?  What will happen to my precious flame?

                                                                                        Hafiz

Life is a paradox O God

I wish it were not so

For life in the eye of a paradox

is a tumultuous and puzzling thing

It is a life of tension

Law and freedom

Light and Dark

Giving and receiving

Good and Bad

New and Old

always that tension is there

lurking

that "both / and"

and rarely an "either / or"

And yet in that beautiful tension

is growth and life

for as we give we receive

and as we learn how to receive we find

paradoxically

a new ability to give

In sinning we learn about forgiveness

In our awareness of our weakness, we also learn of strength

In our failure we learn of hope

And the darkness only makes the light stronger

Life is a paradox oh God,

thank you that it is so!