#361 The Flowers in the Snow
The power of accepting contradictions
White snow covers bright flowers. Spring meets with winter, not in a gentle transition but in absolute contrast. It is jarring and also beautiful.
The image is the product of two contradictory things existing at one time, almost like the “yes, and…” game used by drama teachers to create openness and cooperation. Participants are challenged to accept a scenario (“Shirley is at the hairdressers”) and then build upon it (“Yes, and she spots a big, blue dog out of the window”).
It encourages creativity. Rather than reject a scenario you have to expand it, push it as far as it can go. You might end up pretty far from the original situation. (“Shirley and the big, blue dog are now having tea on the moon.”)
Or in our situation, there are bright, spring flowers and there is snow.
I am reminded of the “I weigh” campaign begun by Jameela Jamil. Jamil encourages people to describe themselves beyond their physical weight. People might list their gifts and their struggles side by side. Perhaps they are a “sister”, “best friend”, “mother”, as well as a “business owner”, “freelancer”, or “avid reader”. They might also list that they are an “overthinker” or “experience anxiety”. All of these things can exist together and make up beautiful, complex human beings. We weigh all of these things.
And when we accept that multiple things can be true at once, we can allow ourselves to be bigger, more creative, and more complex individuals. We can say things like, “I had a bad day at work today, yes, and I am still good at my job.”
When we open ourselves up to new possibilities, we can appreciate the flowers in the snow.
