Shades of Grey

Not the book! I've been discussing with a good friend how life is full of complications and moral shades of grey.  Life is not black and white. For some people it is. I wonder if, for the majority, life is much more complex? I've always thought it is. If life were as black and white as some of my more inflexible acquaintances believe it to be, then I would be damned to burn in hell long ago. That, of course, predicates a belief in a god who sees humanity as weak and worm-like, destined for failure.

So, how to live a life of goodness? How to deal with moral complications? How to be true to oneself, yet be loving to one's family and friends? Is there a higher responsibility to honour your own personal growth or must you delay or stifle growth to ensure the happiness/security of others? Is there a win/win or as a dear friend says, "a perfect solution?"

In many ways, it's the notion of perfect solutions that is sending me deeply into depression. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes all the time. I hurt people. They hurt me. It's the actions and reactions of life. There is no perfect. There is only growth. Perfection strikes me as fixed and static.

The other notion that has me thinking a lot is the idea of running away from something or running toward something. Unlike elections, which are the incumbant's to lose, all life is movement away from one thing and towards something else. My guess is that we run into problems when we try to stay put and not move. Stasis is death. So we are always running away and always running towards. Satisfaction or happiness comes in the notion of the stillness of the present moment and the presence of awareness and breath. 

The contentment of listening to Catie, my daughter, talking to her dolls while my son chuckles at something on a YouTube video while I write this before rushing into my day is one of those moments. Making the decision to be grateful for this gloriously sunny spring day and face challenges with a smile, no matter how much I'd like to crawl into bed in a dark room is another such moment. I move forward and movement is change.

Namaste