“I call that ambiguity,” I said. “Riddles, puzzles, double meanings, lost possibilities, the dark side to the light, the light side to the darkness, different perspectives on the same things. Nothing in this whole world has only one side to it. Everything is like a kaleidoscope. That’s what I’m trying to capture in my art. That’s what I mean by ambiguity.”

~ The Gift of Asher Lev  by Chaim Potok

Everything is the same and everything is different.  This thought from artist Asher Lev foreshadows for me the words to his father, quoted above, in an exchange that occurs later in the story. How often have I thought a very similar thought, even if with different words to it? How often do I look at the picture of my life and wonder at how the pieces have shifted around to change the collective image – sometimes drastically. I am tempted to share context from the story as I generally do, but I feel this truth does not need context from the work of fiction from which it is pulled. It is a universal truth given poignant depth by Potok.

In a sealed kaleidoscope, the tiny colorful multi-faceted shards and chips of colorful glass that tumble about each other as the end is turned stay the same in that they are locked in. Yet with each turn, their positions change – the perspective shifts – the image created by the mirrors within is new though all of the pieces are, in essence, the same. Everything is the same and everything is different.

Our lives are not sealed kaleidoscopes. They are left open to the coming and the leaving of the “pieces” that make up the picture of our life. The variety of people we share facets of our life with, our personal and shared experiences, and memories of events and of emotions are ever changing. The impact of each relationship remains, however, as its own tiny (or large) shard. The happenings of each day bring shifts small and large in our perspective – sometimes in ways thoroughly unexpected. There are times when the picture we “see” appears to be all we long for, and we strive to capture and hold onto it as tightly as we can. Each new sunrise, though, brings even a tiny rearrangement in the picture – a light shines where we did not see light before, and because of that light a shadow falls elsewhere. This chiaroscuro, or contrast of light and dark, can change how we see the world like nothing else can. …the dark side to the light, the light side to the darkness, different perspectives on the same things.

At times we need to intentionally cause a shift to happen, to turn the end of the kaleidoscope – or even shake it, hard. We may not know for sure which pieces will stay and which will be gone or be able to anticipate exactly how the remaining pieces will be rearranged, but we know it’s time to make a turn. Riddles, puzzles, double meanings, lost possibilities….

Even during life seasons when so much in our world seems to be the same from day to day, tiny shifts and unnoticed turnings bring changes we may be only subconsciously aware of. That’s what I mean by ambiguity.

We live shared lives; our kaleidoscopes are interconnected, especially with those we love. Seeing things differently from even those we feel closest to can be painful at times, but it can also be beautiful when we open ourselves up to hear the difference in their perspective or experience. Two people standing side by side looking at the same flower, the same painting, the same car, the same situation will have slightly different perspectives not only because of sight line but because of all the prior life experiences that create the filter through which they are looking. Even though we sometimes see only one side, the person beside us is likely seeing others. There can be great beauty in this ambiguity. Nothing in this whole world has only one side to it. Everything is like a kaleidoscope.