Both/And Of Life

Without doubt, COVID has brought massive changes to the way we live our lives.

One of the major lessons consolidated during my psychology studies was from Carl Jung – the union of opposites - the both/and of life.

There is a tendency for us to polarize experiences into right or wrong, good or bad, positive or negative. As illustrated in the yin/yang symbol, the seeds of the opposite are also embedded in a situation. So, even in these extraordinary times, the seeds of positive are there for us to develop if we can take enough of our attention away from the frustration and inconvenience of the situation. And this is not about dismissing or diminishing the difficulties and frustrations of lockdown and other disruptions in life – it’s about recognizing that learning and new growth opportunities are also present in the situation. If we can divide our attention between the obvious negative and the positive possibilities, we are more likely to manage the situation rather than have it overwhelm us.

Image by Peter Lomas from Pixabay