Wednesday, May 06, 2015

We are not good OR bad...




We are good AND bad…

Did I blog about this already? Because if I did, I apologize. I am not getting old OR forgetful, I am getting old AND forgetful. 

So if you get a feeling of de ja vu when you read this, that is why. I was introduced to this concept of duality by an artist I've admired for a long time, and it really resonated with me. It has, in fact, stuck with me enough that I want to write about it, possibly for the second time.

In her case, I vaguely recall that she was lamenting to her therapist that she was not good… at several things…she was a bad mother, etc. Sidebar: this artist is ridiculously good at everything, and I mean everything: art, motherhood, business, writing, fencing, boxing, violin, sewing..the list is truly endless (I swear, I am not making any of these up – she does them ALL, very well) -- so after this revelation, I stopped listening for awhile to what she had to say, because being excellent at everything (she is also incredibly disciplined and really works hard at all of these things, by the way) but being awesome at everything and still thinking you’re bad is just annoying.

But back to the subject…
We are not good OR bad. We are good AND bad. What I love about this, is the reminder that both goodness and badness can co-exist within us. Being bad (sometimes), does not negate the good we have done. We are always learning and hopefully growing from our experiences, and hopefully, at the end of it all, if our deeds are sorted into good AND bad, the good list is a lot longer. 

Now where did I leave my pitchfork?