The Rose Bowl

Ancient philosophies teach that light, laughter and love each enable us to transcend difficulty.

The light refers to knowledge and to wisdom, derived from undeniable certainty, gained either intuitively, directly through one’s own experience, or indirectly through study, observation and concentration. The symbol of the hermit, illustrated on a Tarot card, represents a wise man, who carries a lantern which gives just enough light to illuminate his next step and thus has sufficient knowledge to move forward. Here, the wisdom comes from his mastery of silence, stillness and solitude.

Laughter, as we all know, is excellent medicine and the perfect antidote to trials and tribulations. The ability to laugh at whatever fate has prepared is a sovereign way of keeping focussed. It can lead oneself and others away from disaster, through the power of the confidence that it shows. As Rudyard Kipling says in his classic poem: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.”

Love inspires all people, regardless of their situation. Love springs from something other than our own self-interest and releases energy within us when faced with challenges that seem insurmountable. As Plato said: “The madness of love is the greatest of heaven’s blessings”.

These three qualities all generate hope and have been conspicuously absent in much of modern culture in the past few decades. Perhaps now, when so much of the world is travelling through troublesome times, they’ll make a welcome return, together with their bedfellow, beauty. 

Without hope our lives are desperate; with hope we can always create anew.