Trees at Sunrise

This morning I was struck by the beauty of trees silhouetted against the sky before sunrise. Unfortunately I missed the few moments when there was a band of pink just above the horizon. (I had to feed some hungry cats!) Still, it was beautiful, and I took the best photograph I could. I was wondering, why did it affect me that way? According to Aesthetic Realism - and this is a principle I love and never get tired of quoting - "All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves."   

Tree(s) at Sunrise. 

Three pairs of opposites I thought of are these: simplicity and complexity, point and width, pride and humility. 

1. Simplicity and Complexity

That tree (the main one in the photograph) is one living organism, and as it rises and the branches spreads out, you get a sense of unity developing, growing into many smaller boughs, branches, and twigs, with many directions. Every person is one self, one being, but with how much complexity! I have learned that the unifying principle for life is that our deepest desire is to honestly like and be fair to the world. (See Self and World, by Eli Siegel. Aesthetic Realism describes "the world" in this sense as all that is not ourselves). I like thinking about how I can like the world through all the things I do in a day. It gives both excitement and composure to one's life.  That tree stands for the way I want to be.

2. Point and Width
What affected me was not only the tree, but the tree against the early morning sky. The tree is in the foreground and has specificity, tangibility and immediacy. But the sky behind stretches out wide and away. You can't touch it. The photograph has both point and width. One thing I want to do better with is the way I can get focused on one thing and forget about the rest of the world. In the vista that affected me this morning, one object and the world added to each other's meaning, and this is a big encouragement. I feel so fortunate to know that in the world not me is the answer to the questions of my life. 

3. Pride and Humility
Going back to the tree itself, I love the way it rises grandly, massively, but with delicacy and humility. The way the branches spread out has a reaching quality. It reminds me of the lines by Robert Browning, 

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,Or what's a heaven for? 

Now there is a life lesson!