In oneof our concert grand pianos, 243 taut strings exert a pull of 40,000 poundson an iron frame. It is proof that out of great tension may come greatharmony.
It iswith our brothers and sisters that we learn to love, share, negotiate, startand end fights, hurt others, and save face. The basis of healthy (orunhealthy) connections in adulthood is cast during childhood.
Conflictis the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. Itinstigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplikepassivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.
A large ocean liner was headed across the Atlantic fromPortsmouth to New York. As it neared its destination at night, a lookout onthe wing of the bridge reported, ‘Light, bearing on the starboardbow.’‘Is it steady or moving astern?’ the captain called out