Sun and Rain: Seeking Balance in Life

Walking through Rossio Square in central Lisbon (Portugal) several years ago, I noticed the sun playing off water spraying from a nearby fountain.  The warmth of the sun was tempered by the cooling mist.  A pleasant encounter on this hot and dry day.

I was struck by the Beauty of Balance:  one element offsetting another; not trying to dominate; both coexisting in a radiant display of sunlight on sparklets of water.

Where is there balance in your life?
(Photo:  Rossio Square, Lisbon, Portugal)

If you think about sun and rain, we need both... in a delicate balance.  Too much sun without enough rain will create desert or drought conditions.  Too much rain without enough sun can cause flooding, swamps, and mildew.  When water and sunlight is Out-of-Balance, destruction can occur.

I wonder if being in balance or out-of-balance describes the ability to stay in relationship?  What then can we say about the balance or imbalance in our lives?

What storms overwhelm you?
(Photo:  tropical storm over Panama City, Panama)

Our divided world debates about climate change - whether it is happening or not.  We differ about life and choice.  COVID has opened new fissures about vaccinations and masks:  what is the best way to achieve immunity from an external virus.

I wonder about the virus that compromises our relationships... when we cannot listen to differing opinions.  It seems that we are no longer curious about understanding the facts of a situation.  Rather, we seek to dominate or destroy what is in oppositions to our tightly-held beliefs and conclusions.

How can this new day be different?
(Photo:  sunrise over Pacific Ocean)

For me, the beauty of balance is the desire to stay in relationship.  We may not always agree... but can we keep talking?  Can we replace judgment with curiosity:

• I wonder what you think about...
• I see it this way.  How do you see it?  What is your experience?
• Help me understand how you reached that conclusion.

We cannot ask these questions if we are not in relationship.  We cannot notice a climate of change unless we are open to seeing the change in others... and ourselves.

Rain must give way to sun to create the balance that nature needs; sun must allow rain to feed the new growth that occurs when sun and rain work together; and rainbows -- covenants against destruction -- occur only when sun and rain appear together.

 
What relationships are important to you?  How do you stay in balance with those you care about?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Forever Touched

Having grown up in the Salinas-Monterey coastal region of California, our perennial field trip in elementary school was the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove.  Gazing up into a forest of trees, all we could see were the gentle brown flapping of "leaves" -- not realizing that we were seeing the underwings of  thousands of butterflies.

We learned about their seasonal migration from Canada-U.S. to Mexico, and how we were connected to these delicate co-inhabitants of this planet.  Monarch butterflies were in our backyards:  they were neighbors traveling through our young lives.

In what ways are you being transformed?
(Photo: Monarch butterfly caterpillar)

It's been disturbing to read about the Monarch's plight these past years:  their numbers have been reduced drastically.  Scientists and researchers are worried about whether they will survive.  To help, we have been encouraged to plant milkweed in our yards - one of their sources of food.  It's not a plant that you want to get attached to!  The Monarch caterpillars devour the milkweed leaves to the point you only have stalks left!  But the leaves come back quickly, waiting for the next round of caterpillars to ravage the plant again!

A delicate cycle with a fragile balance in our partnership with nature.

How can you impact the world?
(Photo: Speckled Wood butterfly, Costa Rica)

I was reminded of this childhood fascination with the Monarchs when traveling in Costa Rica a few years back.  Part of our guided tour was through a rain forest sanctuary for butterflies.  The local people protect the rain forest and have created an eco-business based on sustaining life.  I was impressed at the knowledge and passion our guides had for their neighbors.

I recalled the Butterfly Effect defined in chaos theory: how small changes can lead to large-scale and unpredictable variations across the world.

Are your relationships webs of inclusions?
(Photo: spider web, Costa Rica rain forest)

Dialogue and relationships seem to be endangered in today's divided world.  We are quick to cling to our opinions and conclusions about others.  We label and make decisions based on differences.  We don't always protect an environment that feeds patience and understanding.  We sever ties with our neighbors when we disagree.

Seeing the brown underwings of the Monarchs as a child did not reveal the true beauty of the orange-black neighbors that graced our yards.  Instead, we had to learn the connection between the two, and we had to be willing to plant milkweed to sustain life.

What would happen if we allowed each other room to be transformed, to migrate to new places of understanding?  What action can we take -- no matter how small -- that will affect others?  How can we be forever touched by the beauty of our relationships -- the ups and downs of both sides of the whole?  How can our relationships create webs of inclusion rather than trapping and killing another perspective?

What are ways that we can nourish and sustain our neighbors?

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

A Reflective Anniversary

Anniversaries can be times for celebration, reflection, and remembrance.  Five years ago this weekend, I began offering this weekly blog about my dialogue journey --  the thoughts and lessons I learned the previous week.  Oftentimes, this journey was with many of you.

I had just returned from the Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City: over 10,000 people from around the world gathered to seek understanding and acceptance.  A few weeks before the conference I had finished a 2-year Dialogue Practicum.  It seemed fitting to use a blog format to continue my exploration and learning.

What thoughts color your world?

During the 4-day conference, Tibetan monks created a sand mandala (circle or balance) to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama.  The mandala was created in a public space so that people could watch the design grow as we walked to our various workshops and meetings.

The monks patiently added.. grain by grain... sands of many colors to slowly build a design intricate and beautiful.  At the end of the conference, people gathered to watch this beautiful creation swept away -- never to be seen again.

Are we willing to work together
on a shared vision?

Five years later, I wonder:

• What thoughts and words have created beauty?
• Are there actions publicly displayed that have provided balance?
  
• Have we patiently listened on our journey together?

 
And, in this election cycle, can we erase what was created before and rebuild again?

Can we listen... and learn?

 
In many ways, Dialogue is a celebration of our reflective natures: the ability to slow down and listen; the willingness to become vulnerable when we don't have the answers; and the curiosity to seek ways of being Aware, Compassionate, Free, and Interdependent.

 

Celebration, reflection, and remembrance are important as each year passes. We celebrate and reflect upon:

• Our accomplishments
  
• What is important and long-lasting
  
• How we come together and create balance 
  

Thank you for what I have learned from you!  Thank you for reading and responding to these posts!  Thank you for providing ideas to explore new Ways of Being Together!

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)