To have a firm persuasion in our work – to feel that what we do is right for ourselves and good for the world at the exactly same time – is one of the great triumphs of human existence.*
David Whyte

A thing without opposition ipso facto does not exist … existence lies in opposition.**
C. S. Peirce

You and I,
We need some opposition,
Something that pushes against and riles us more
so that we must do something about it.

For me, William Blake‘s “firm persuasion” echoes
Frederick Buechner‘s discovering our purpose in life
where our deepest joy meets the world’s greatest need –
A most wonderful result from the human economy of creativeness,

Of course, life also contains the dimming of vision, the cooling of fervour, or
feeling overwhelmed by the opposition, though taking a little time
each day to realign and renew perspective – perhaps in journaling or
a walking exercise, can lead us into our purpose, which may be nothing short of transcendent at times.

A fascinating paradox is that most transcendent experiences are completely ego-free. In the moment, we lose track of our bodies, we lose track of our selves.^

*David Whyte’s Crossing the Unknown Sea;
**Austin Kleon’s blog: Iain Gilchrist on the coincidence of opposites;
^Alan Lightman’s The Transcendent Brain.