There's something to be said about the ability to have feelings of 'Both / And' live within you. To expand yourself into a capacity that holds multiple and sometimes conflicting emotions and mindframes.
This isn't to be confused with being neutral, or an inability to make up your mind with a definitive choice. You are deeply invested in multiple states of being at once. Rather, this is an invitation for the hard conversations:
How far from yourself will you allow a thought, a commitment, or an emotion take you?
It is an acknowledgement to the complexity we can embody when an experience holds many truths.
In a ‘Both / And’ experience, I can be:
🔸Both empathetic to your hurt/ And strong standing in the boundary I drew.
🔸Both joyous that you're pregnant / And grieving that I can't be.
🔸Both respectful to your person / And critical of your stance on an issue.
🔸Both understanding of your frustration / And reject you throwing your anger at me.
🔸Both honouring of your pain / And supportive of your partner's decision.
🔸Both loving to a parent or sibling / And holding them responsible to the trauma they caused.
What examples do you have where you needed to exercise being 'Both/And'?