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The Elements of Harmony


My 7-year-old grandson asked me if I knew The Seven Elements of Harmony.   (Capitalizations are mine.)  I was taken aback - extremely impressed with the deep and reflective nature of his question.  Imagine a 7-year-old contemplating the nature and aspect of harmony.  As a matter of fact, just think about how striking it is that a 7-year-old would even use the words “element” and “harmony.”

So I thought a bit and starting talking about Compassion.   Respect.  (Capitalizations are mine.)  I commented that when we have compassion and respect for one another that there is less occasion for disagreements and strife, thus nurturing a lifestyle of harmony.  (I resisted using the word “harmonious,” given his age.  I can’t remember if I actually used the words “strife” and “nurturing.”)

 “What do you think?” I asked him.  I was most curious to see what he might perceive.

“You don’t get it,” he said.

“I don’t get it?”  I replied. 

“No,” he asserted. 

“So help me with it,” I prompted.  

He explained that in My Little Pony, there were The Seven Elements of Harmony, which were magical things – all about harmony.  Honesty.   Kindness.  Laughter.  Generosity.  Loyalty.   Magic.  There were associated ponies and powerful objects involved.   I did not notice at the time that this only adds up to SIX elements.  I was too flummoxed to try to quantify things.     

For those of you who are not immersed in the world of children, the My Little Pony franchise includes toy ponies of many colors, fabulous manes and tails, magical powers, a television series, and a movie released in 2017, for starters.

I did some online research, and a website informed me that within the My Little Pony realm, The Seven Elements of Harmony are “supernatural artifacts representing subjective aspects of harmony.”  Most websites listed SIX.  https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/Elements_of_Harmony   I had to do a bit more work to find out that the seventh element of harmony is empathy, although there seems to be some serious online debate on the topic. Because I really liked thinking that “Empathy” would be considered one of the Elements of Harmony, I cast my vote firmly in that camp.

Despite our detour into the world of My Little Pony, we find ourselves back considering the Elements of Harmony:  Honesty.  Kindness.  Laughter.  Generosity.   Loyalty.   Magic.   Empathy.

Not too bad, after all.  

William Wordsworth said:

“With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things.”

What do you think?   

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