In my garden, a concrete lion’s head sits on a stone wall, wrapped in a living wreath of dark green Virginia Creeper.

I think of fierce and tender. The intense strength of a lion and the tender, green leaves of a vine wrapped around the lion’s face.

These are the opposites. The dualities of life are in the world and in each of us. They describe and define who we are.

We can be fierce and tender, strong and gentle, determined and yielding, hard and soft, sometimes all within the exact same moment.

Sometimes, I can be too hard, too structured, and set in my ways, and I choose not to allow myself to be open, vulnerable, and personal and to risk letting people know who I am and what I think. I find it hard to trust others with my feelings and thoughts. And yet, when I do open up and show myself personally, I feel good, free, and truly connected with others. It’s important to be known and share yourself, not to be so regimented and hidden.

The Virginia Creeper vine is hardy but can be crushed and torn down in a moment. It returns every year, growing and getting stronger. Easily trimmed and trained. You can count on it. It’s steady like a stone ornament and wall, but full of life.

Where do you see strength, fierceness, and tenderness in the world around you and yourself?

How does this dance between stone and vine play out in each of us?

How can our fierce and tender selves learn not just to coexist, but to strengthen each other?

This is what I’m learning from watching my stone lion and growing green vine – that our opposites can blend beautifully.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily with others.
This matters too – The Opposites in the World and You.

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