All or None

That is how so many of us approach our lives. We invest ourselves wholeheartedly in either avoidance or immersion after identifying a project or issue that we deem attention worthy or in need of repair. For most, their whole lives are spent solely in the land of All or None as a standardized method of operation for any and all functions. Personally, I’ve preferred the immersion technique. But it doesn’t matter which way you swing, neither is a healthy approach. So what is?

It’s the place that stands smack dab in the middle of All or None, and it is known as ‘Some’. Some doesn’t receive much credit in our harried world. It seems to imply that we made a half ass attempt. “Faster, harder, longer and more, more, more!” says the world. And like a good soldier, we obey. Then we come crashing down, our resentment at an all-time high while our energy is at its all-time low. In that space we pull a pillow over our eyes and tell everyone and everything, including our own selves, “No more. I can’t and I won’t.” Both extremes are caustic and do little to nurture us, those in our life or the world at large.

What Some allows is balance. It’s the place where we can set healthy boundaries and investments of our time. It permits us to say, “I love you but I will not sacrifice myself in the process because I know I must tend to my well-being also.” Some reminds us that to-do lists aren’t to be avoided nor are they the strict script of what we are meant to accomplish in our lives. When we strive towards personal growth Some says, “All in due time and only one step at a time.” Some creates the space to breathe as it lacks the external and internal pressures of All or None.

Some is full of possibilities- as in somewhere, sometime, someday, someplace, someone and something. It tells us that we have a choice and the world is full of wonder, not dogma. Some isn’t just the middle ground, it is also the higher one as it elevates our awareness so that we might make conscious rather than reactive choices. Some can be our center.

I encourage you to explore what areas in your life are calling for you to put Some into play. Give yourself permission, in some area of your life, to partake in the slow and steady pace Some has to offer.

Be well and happy.