Contrasting Similarities

¨ Note the coolness of the air in the dark tree shade in the mountains; note the heat in the air in the brilliant sunshine in the mountains: it’s the same air.

¨ Arrowheads are made of smooth, glassy flint or obsidian; arrowheads are made of coarse, rough quartzite: both are arrowheads, created and used for the same purpose.

¨ Feel the sticky, glue-like, fresh pitch on an evergreen tree; feel the smooth, glass-like, hard, dry pitch: it’s the same sap on the same tree.

¨ Walk on the dusty, powdery-dry dirt in the mountain road; slide on the slippery-when-wet mud in the mountain road: it’s the same soil on the same road.

¨ Caress the soft, pliable, new spruce needles; carefully touch the stiff, sharp-pointed, mature spruce needles: they are the same needles on the same tree.

¨ Climb on the hard, impervious granite cliff side; try to stand on the loose, almost flowing, weathered granite particles on the hillside: it’s the same granite.

¨ Admire the dark green summer aspen leaf; admire the light golden autumn aspen leaf: it’s the same leaf.

¨ Swim in the warm, soft water of the lake; skate on the cold, hard ice of the lake: it’s the same water in the same lake.

¨ Enjoy the noisy sounds of children dear to you; flinch from the noise of children who annoy you: they are essentially the same sounds.

¨ Feel pleasure from the touch of someone you love; recoil from the touch of a stranger: both are human touches.

¨ Gently pressing ice to an injury on your head is comforting; falling and hitting your head on ice causes injury and is discomforting: both involve the meeting of your head and ice.

¨ Relax in the absolute stillness of the air; try to stand in the face of a gale-force wind: it’s the same air.

Hope for the best in life; be not surprised by the worst in life:
it’s the same life.

Gerald McDaniel, October 2003