Grapefruit… it’s all about how you slice it!
Grapefruit grows as a whole fruit. You can’t go anywhere on the planet and pick half grapefruits off a tree. We create two halves and determine what the two halves will look like when we decide where to place the knife. Each half is distinct and has its own individual characteristics but at the same time, they are also parts of the whole and indeed could not exist as halves at all, without the whole fruit existing first.
In the same way events, opportunities, people, places and situations come to us whole or neutral. When we discriminate, or make distinctions about them we divide them, categorize them and give them a charge; like positive and negative, want and don’t want or like and don’t like. As soon as you use the ‘sword of discrimination’ (you’ve heard that expression?) and ‘make a cut’ you immediately create two different ‘views’.
If the distinction is familiar (habitual), one you’ve made over and over again like; no I don’t like macaroon cookies… the process is largely unconscious. We hardly ever think about the distinctions we make. We just make them. You’re probably thinking well that’s nice but what does this have to do with me? How can I use this information?
Try this neat little mental exercise. For the next few days, pay attention to what comes into your awareness; whether it’s a person, a place, a thing, an event or situation. Whether it’s something you’ve done a thousand times like getting the mail or something that’s brand new to you, just notice what discriminations you make about what’s going on, which side of the ‘cut’ you prefer, and what kinds of feelings come up. As soon as you complete your assessment, ask yourself, “Now what’s the other side of this distinction?”
If this mental exercise is something brand new to you, it may feel strange or awkward. But that’s OK. Just like when you learn a new movement pattern in exercise; with repetition the pattern will become more efficient and feel easier to do. As you develop this new skill you will begin seeing both sides of your ‘cuts’ simultaneously. You might enjoy this new perspective and you might be surprised to find that some of your habitual observations about yourself, or what is happening in your environment will shift. Let me know what this process reveals for you!
Matter Is a Mirror…
Be Well,
JWaz