Life’s a two-sided coin?
“Can’t have one without the other?”
Coins have a front and back side; can’t have one without the other.
Breathing is both inhaling and exhaling; can’t have one without the other.
Circulation is both giving and receiving; can’t have one without the other.
The tide is both incoming and outgoing; can’t have one without the other.
I really like the image above. It is so easy to see things as just black and white, that this is a good reminder of the integration of opposites in each event and person.
So?
I’ve said that one reason I divorced TW so long ago was for the same reason that I married him.
The marriage reason side of the coin was his child-like enjoyment of life and ability to have fun. We laughed a lot.
The divorce reason side of the coin was his childishness in not taking responsibility nor being willing to deal with our finances. It was like having another kid. I couldn’t do it all and it led to our store’s bankruptcy.
My labeling in both cases was based on my perceptions and my expectations at those two times in my life.
I learned that the “coin” that was him could show two sides to me, even though I didn’t see both until a number of years had passed.
And I admit that though my wisdom is sometimes hard earned, it is always worth it. After all, I know that
- a coin is just one thing even though it has two sides.
- breathing is one activity.
- circulation is one process.
- the tide is one with the ocean,
- and a person with all his/her attributes is one person.
One, One, One
It’s a good reminder to me that:
the glass is both half full and half empty and still one glass,
and folks can be both fun and annoying and still one person.
My newly enhanced awareness is that I am
- glad for the glass,
- glad for the person, and
- glad that I (hardly ever!) find myself stuck in judgment for very long.
So maybe then these seemingly different sides of some truths are both true?
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Many hands make light work.
Or how about ..?
Look before you leap.
He who hesitates is lost.
3 Comments
This is rather like: Is light a wave or a particle? Yes. Oddly enough when written out as you did in this post, I can’t remember specific dichotomies I’ve held simultaneously, but we both know there have been lots during our long – eventful – lives! At any given point in time, in a given situation I’m quite likely to believe and act on something one way, while at the same time knowing that the opposite belief and action are just as ‘right’, as valid. Context, I suppose. Somehow you and I have done that without completely going crazy and losing our minds altogether. or have we?
Thanks for sharing this. You make me smile.
I like your example of the Tao symbol or yin/yang. Most people don’t know that the little dot (black in white and white in black) means that nothing is pure yang or pure yin. Looking at the symbol, it is static but try to imagine it moving and constantly changing. Yes, that is truly life.
Mary Kay, thanks for your observant comment! I just figured that it meant nothing is all black or white, so don’t be so quick to judge!