Relationships

Relationships are the foundation of our lives. Everything is related in some way due to the way in which we interact. This is true for our relationships with people, with countries, with how we perceive ourselves, and the world. Everything we touch is affected, to some extent, for better or for worse.

The mathematician Isaac Newton taught us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This principle does not only apply to physics, but also to decisions we as people make every day. While it is natural to respond with instinct to most scenarios, it is a necessity to stop and ponder our actions and contemplate the full consequences of what we do. For while there can be an equal or opposite reaction, these are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, more often than we are aware there is an equal and an opposite reaction, however we tend to only perceive one or the other.

If we approach life as a prism it is true that when light is shined upon it we can perceive color, however the color we see is not a universal truth but a personal truth as we can only see that particular color from the angle in which we view it. What is important to remember is that we don't always have to view the light in the same way. We can always challenge ourselves to recognize there is more to light than what we see, and to challenge our perception to encompass more than our current field of vision. To be able to see light and dark, and recognize them not as two separate polar opposites but two interconnected pieces of a whole. For what would light be without dark? Dark without light? The paradigm shifts when we can look past each separate truth, recognize them to be one and the same, and see not how it affects you but how your perception affects it. That is the most essential relationship.

We need to challenge ourselves to look down the path our lives are taking and perceive that while the unknown is affecting how we walk that path, where the path goes is affected by how we walk it. And with every decision we make the unknown is altered. As long as we maintain individuality, and consciously alter the path we're taking for ourselves, our path of life will always be changed for the better.

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Phone: (206) 324-2573 Fax: (206) 324-2589
epiphanyparish@epiphanyseattle.org