Harmony

What come to mind when you think of harmony? Everyone working together? World peace? No arguments or strife?

A piece of music may come to mind, the harmonious chords resonating with each other to create a stirring sound…but when we think of it in these terms, we realise that with harmony also comes division.

A single note on its own cannot be harmonious, by definition harmony is a combination of simultaneously sounded notes.

The same can be thought of when considering a recipe. No dish is harmonious without various ingredients added to give it that particular flavour.

So too life can only be harmonious when separate issues come together.

Division is often viewed as a negative concept, something which divides weakens the whole, and this is partly true – if certain ingredients or notes were missing then the whole would not have the same harmonious effect, but at the same time, the whole cannot be without the divided parts.

A harmonious soul is a balanced one, one that takes the good with the bad and views them as each the same. The wise man understands that just as a flower is beautiful, it is not a flower without the petals, leaves or stem. The flower will never exist without the pollinating insects, which in turn cannot exist without the sun, or air or water.

The cycle is endless, each divided part depending on another, like ripples in a pond.

We are individual, sometimes seemingly insignificant, yet essential parts of a whole.