(17.40) Some

Some

A Jesuit priest taught me a four-letter word that I want to share with you: some.

“Some” is a very important concept we often forget about in our all-or-nothing, do-or-die, black-and-white mentality. The reality is that nothing in our lives is ever “all or nothing.”

We don’t understand everything, but we do understand some things.

We don’t need everything, but we do need some things.

We don’t like everything, but we do like some things.

We don’t hate everything, but we do hate some things.

“Things”
are not all good or all bad, in and of themselves. Within the bad,
there is some good. Within the good, there is some bad. This notion is
represented by the two little dots in the yin/yang symbol. Some.

You can love and hate someone at the same time.

You can be brilliant and dense simultaneously.

Life is full of these contradictions and paradoxes. Yet for some reason, the concept of some-ness is scarce in our society.

We
have colorful magazines and high-definition (HD) televisions, yet many
of us operate with a black-and-white mentality – one in which we think
our beliefs are solid, unchanging, and permanent. To think this way is
a delusion. Our beliefs are neither solid nor unchanging – and,
soberly, the same goes for us.

True
freedom comes from freeing ourselves from our delusions, including the
belief that anything we think or believe is permanent or
all-encompassing.

This week’s spiritual-religious advice: contemplate some-ness.