The Gifts of Contrast Part II
Last week I wrote about a perfect day yet questioned if we want everyday to be perfect. Is it realistic? Do we really want the same kind of day over and over? If we had the same kind of day over and over, that special Saturday in the sun and snow would lose its uniqueness. We do not have these feelings about 50 degree days in September.
When it comes to understanding contrast in life, Brooke Castillo talks about the 50/50 rule. We can think of the 50/50 principle as a way to acknowledge that life consists of both positive and negative experiences. Approximately half the time, things may be going well and we feel happy. The other half, however, challenges may arise, and we might feel terrible or experience pain.
In simpler terms, the 50/50 principle suggests that life is a combination of ups and downs. It encourages us to recognize that both joy and difficulty are part of our journey.
“Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living a heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it's breathtakingly beautiful.”
L.R. Knost
It is in the contrast of life that we can appreciate the joy. Even if you could set every day up to be exactly what you wanted, why would you want that?
If I never got frustrated with my sister, I would not be able to practice humility and apologizing or working toward compromise. My students and their phones show me how much work I still have to do on my personal growth and not letting them get the best of me (and there is A LOT of work left to do there)!
If everyday was perfect, you wouldn’t appreciate the joy, spontaneity, anticipation and abundance as much, and this can be even better than being happy.
Because of some unexpected loss that I have experienced, I have been able to reassess my life and values, and invest in myself in a way that I would not have, had the change not happened. The loss, pain, grief and isolation that I experienced was awful, don’t get me wrong. However, it was the strong, heavy emotions that moved me to re envision my life and reevaluate what was working and what no longer served me. The connections I have in my relationships are deeper, my daily practices are more steadfast, and my days are more joyful because I appreciate every little thing more than I was able to before. As much as the growing pains sucked, it was what my life needed to detour me in the direction of a life that was much more rich and aligned with my greater purpose.
Again, enough for now, but I will wrap up next week. Thanks for reading.
