Stretch the heart to hold contradiction and paradox

Yesterday in her post, "Deep Blue Waters", a blogger in Kadikoy Istanbul, Turkey reflects on reading Thomas Moore's book, Care of the Soul while writing about observing herself more than analyzing herself, "I realized it the most when I returned from my trip to America last week. I was seeing things with a different perspective. I want no part of contrasting my life here with my life there, or what I see, taste, or feel, either. I want to feel the natural joy of each new gift I get from being here. The old, dark, run down buildings with no windows next to the tall, brightly colored new ones. The old, thick tangled vines running along rusted metal fences hanging with the weight of the budding purple flowers."

Interspersed with quotes from Moore's book, she describes what she sees while sitting at a cafe. She shares an approach that Moore recommends, "'Often care of the soul means not taking sides when there is a conflict at a deep level. It may be necessary to stretch the heart wide enough to embrace contradiction and paradox… in fact, the conflict itself is creative and perhaps should never be healed.  By giving each figure its voice, we let the soul speak and show itself as it is, not as we wish it would be.'"