Paradox

On the occasion of Abraham Lincoln’s 150th birthday, Carl Sandburg spoke before Congress describing the late president as a man, “who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of a terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect.”

When I was a teen, a neighbor lady gave me the 1926 book from which this comes. Love or hate him, Lincoln battled much of his life against depression (melancholia,) but learned to use it as a tool for positive change. It’s all in our attitude.