We live in a world that often demands absolutes: good or bad, right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy. Yet the truth is, no one exists entirely in absolutes. Our traits, emotions and behaviours exist on a spectrum that is ever evolving.
The Spectrum of Traits
Over time, I have been described in vastly different ways. Some have called me kind, calm, caring, compassionate, authentic, empathetic, intelligent, innocent, trusting and even naive. Others have labelled me cold, mean, arrogant, fake, aggressive, ignorant, selfish, manipulative or controlling.
For a while, these contradictions left me confused. But I came to learn that these labels say less about who I am and more about the individuals placing them. They reveal what resonates with them, and often, what they carry within themselves.
The judgments we make about others are often confessions about ourselves. At their core, they are rooted in either love or fear.
The Dance of Duality
No one is always right, perfect, or completely healthy. In the same way, no one is always wrong, broken or unworthy. We live in duality - light and shadow, strength and weakness, joy and grief.
This duality makes us complex, but not impossible to understand. It means that we are never just one thing, but many things - sometimes all at once.
Choosing Healthier Projections
In a society often driven by fear and control, the tendency is to project harsh judgments that create shame and exclusion. But what if we chose differently?
May we embrace healthier projections that are more balanced and relative, rather than absolute. May we lessen the unproductive burdens of shame and separation and instead move collectively toward a healthier sense of oneness - one that mirrors the way we already share our existence with the earth and this lifetime.
An Invitation to You
When you are tempted to label yourself or someone else in absolutes, pause. Remember that life is lived on a spectrum. Every person is capable of growth, contradiction and change.
The more we release absolutes, the more space we create for compassion. And perhaps, the beauty of life lies right here: in the dance of opposites that connect us all, inviting us to walk more humbly, more gently and more whole.