Filoxenia Between Two Worlds

Oil on canvas 

“The visible world: we must construct it from light and darkness. Or should we divide it between the two? That is our task—for the visible world, though unified, is harmoniously shaped by these opposing forces.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A cold soul casts a shadow around itself, and everything nearby begins to fade, wither, or vanish—just as in nature, where winter or absence of sunlight brings stillness and decay.

Life does not follow a given structure, nor is it assigned meaning from beyond. Perhaps only our own design gives it shape. Life unfolds as a constellation of bright and dark moments—and it is up to us to choose our point of reference.

Between these two worlds—of light and shadow—perhaps true filoxenia is the quiet act of offering space to both.