Thank you for this. It sums up (beautifully!!) conversations I’ve been having with many friends about this very subject. We’re complex humans in a complex world. Holding opposing feelings at the same time should be a given, yet the struggle is REAL. The “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry” moments are so human. I’m practicing leaning in to them without shaming myself or judging others. This is a great reminder about that last part! Also, my Monstera is putting off a new leaf right now and let me tell you, THAT is a joy!!! 🩷
Yes to the struggle being real (real!) and the practice of staying with all of it, without shame. We’re all learning to hold the tension of both/and, and it ain't easy and so worth it.
Also, well done you on your Monstera—new leaves are pure magic. Send a pic.
Here’s to the joy in the small things and the honesty in the hard *ones*.
This is a relatively new development in my life, the acknowledgement (the realization, really) that two totally disparate feelings/thoughts/things can exist together at the same time and BOTH BE TRUE. I'll tell you, rather than be disconcerting to me, it has been liberating. It has eased my mind in so many instances where I was just overwhelmed with trying to figure out which was "right." It may have started dawning on me when my niece died (like your nephew, she shouldn't have) - it's the deepest grief I've experienced in my life, and boy do I know THIS: "I’ve felt the ache of absence at the exact same time I felt the warmth of memory." And while this is a life-changing realization for me, I have struggled with grace towards others who might also be holding two contradictory thoughts/feelings/actions. I'm trying on suspending judgement for a monent and asking, “What else might be true for them?” As always, thanks for putting into (beautiful) words what so many of us can't. ❤
Thank you for this. It sums up (beautifully!!) conversations I’ve been having with many friends about this very subject. We’re complex humans in a complex world. Holding opposing feelings at the same time should be a given, yet the struggle is REAL. The “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry” moments are so human. I’m practicing leaning in to them without shaming myself or judging others. This is a great reminder about that last part! Also, my Monstera is putting off a new leaf right now and let me tell you, THAT is a joy!!! 🩷
Yes to the struggle being real (real!) and the practice of staying with all of it, without shame. We’re all learning to hold the tension of both/and, and it ain't easy and so worth it.
Also, well done you on your Monstera—new leaves are pure magic. Send a pic.
Here’s to the joy in the small things and the honesty in the hard *ones*.
This is a relatively new development in my life, the acknowledgement (the realization, really) that two totally disparate feelings/thoughts/things can exist together at the same time and BOTH BE TRUE. I'll tell you, rather than be disconcerting to me, it has been liberating. It has eased my mind in so many instances where I was just overwhelmed with trying to figure out which was "right." It may have started dawning on me when my niece died (like your nephew, she shouldn't have) - it's the deepest grief I've experienced in my life, and boy do I know THIS: "I’ve felt the ache of absence at the exact same time I felt the warmth of memory." And while this is a life-changing realization for me, I have struggled with grace towards others who might also be holding two contradictory thoughts/feelings/actions. I'm trying on suspending judgement for a monent and asking, “What else might be true for them?” As always, thanks for putting into (beautiful) words what so many of us can't. ❤
Pam, thank you for this honest reflection.
Yes, two things can be true at once—and that realization really does shift everything.
It doesn’t make things easier, but it gives us room to breathe.
I felt your words about your niece—grief and memory do coexist.
Appreciate you being here and sharing this.🩷
LOVE this!!!
Thanks, as always, for reading, friend. x