© 'Sunshine and showers', photograph by Juliet Fay 2020

The emotional freedom of and …… both

And suddenly there was more space.
It opened up without warning.
Space to breathe.
Space to explore.
Space to be, not this or that
But both at the same time.
Space to hold either and or,
Not in conflict or with tension
But allowing both to co-exist
And simply wonder
At the juxtaposition.
Space to allow
Something new to emerge,
Organically,
Without rushing
To adopt one position or
The other…….

To be happy at lockdown easing;
And frightened at lockdown easing.

To feel love for the world;
And be in judgement of that one person.

To love where you live;
And long to live elsewhere.

To be a loving mother;
And a mother who left.

To be soft and gentle;
And mean and angry.

To love someone;
And not want to stay with them.

To want to change the world;
And feel overwhelmed at the prospect.

To feel the sorrows of the world;
And feel joy bubbling in your heart.

Seeing that both could be true
Simultaneously.
The one did not need
To negate the other.

The inherent tension
Coming from a
Too narrow view.
We innocently hold
The contradiction
As untenable
And rush prematurely
To resolve
The contradiction,
We created.

But there is no need
To choose.

As the binary approach
Gives way
To the realisation of
Infinite possibilities
In each moment,
The false correlations
(Only ever stories)
Fade and there is only
Wonder.

Wonder at
What next?

A beautiful freedom
Blossoms in the
Emotional freedom of
And…. Both

Note

The freedom in being able to hold these opposing feelings, statements, facts, perceptions, preferences, desires and stories is like some amazing flavour discovered on a foreign trip. One unimaginable until the moment it dissolves on your tongue and your taste buds explode in a glorious hallelujah of delight.

The photo is one of many taken here on the estuary in West Wales. So often sunshine and showers lead to rainbows!

This began as an article, turned into a prose poem but couldn’t quite let go of the article format, so in the spirit of ‘and…. both’ I give it to you as a hybrid if you will. The discovery captured in this piece came about as a result of an insight. Insight leads to a change of heart and, in this case, an upswell of gratitude. The Three Principles understanding points us to the fact that we are built for insight and as we look in the direction of a deeper dimension of thought, insight changes our relationship with our experience. Find out about getting into conversation with me.