Two Things Can Be True

I'm writing this sitting in an airport, waiting for a delayed flight, and thinking about the fact that two things can be true. I want to go and I don’t want to go. I want to spend time with my parents, whom I love, and I want to stay home with my daughter, whom I also love. I want adventure, but I want rest. I want to work, and I want a day off. I want to walk, and I want to lay on the couch and read a book. I feel sadness, and I also feel joy.

Two things can be true.

It is a very hard concept for me to accept. I crave clarity and direction. I want to know which is the right path. I don’t want to equivocate, and I don’t want to feel conflicted.

How do we navigate it?

For a long time, I thought I could navigate it by sheer force of will. By choosing and then tamping down the part that didn’t align with the choice I made. By embracing one emotion and rejecting the other. But now, I think the answer is more nuanced than that. I think we need to accept that two things can be true, allow ourselves to feel all the feelings, and make the best decisions we can knowing that rarely will a decision be perfect or without some measure of regret.

This life thing is kinda complicated ….