Embrace the Mess--Holding Both

The biggest (and at times, hardest) lesson I have learned is life isn't black and white. Life is a big, colorful mess. Life is full of emotions, thoughts, and needs, few of which we can put neatly in a box or precisely label. In fact, sometimes, two opposite extremes are usually true: you love your partner, AND you are frustrated with him/her. You support your child in playing a sport, AND you are worried about his/her safety. You like your job, AND you are having a bad day. You are sad your parents are getting older, AND you enjoy every moment you spend with them. We have opposite extremes all the time--a friend of mine calls it 'holding both.' We are holding two extremes of being happy and sad or frustrated and thankful.

When we embrace the concept of 'holding both,' we can fully experience life. I have a client I will call her Sara who recently lost her mother to cancer. When she first came to see me, her mother had just been diagnosed. 

Throughout the process of her mom's death, which was relatively quick, I encouraged her to hold both--to express her sadness at losing her mom and feeling the gratitude of the moments when she and her mom laughed and shared. After her mom had died, Sara said that if she hadn't had the concept of holding both, she would have missed many special moments with her mom.

Examples of holding both happen all the time in our day to day lives: 

  • being frustrated at a co-worker and understanding why they messed up,

  • being sad about a loss of a job and relieved that you didn't get it,

  • being angry at your partner and sympathetic at the same time.

Frequently we try to squelch one of the feelings because it doesn't fit into a black and white world, or it isn't logical. Well, my friend, life is not logical. Life is messy, full of contrasts and conflicts; it is rich in color. Be curious and supportive of all your emotions, all the many colors you experience in your life! 

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