The good beyond the bad

There is no such thing as good without bad, and there is no such thing as bad without good. This is good news for those of us who want to experience the good in life because we can just focus our attention and energy on the good beyond the bad, because it’s always there

Seeing and attending to the good beyond the bad does not mean denying or ignoring the bad but simply continuing on to the good I see beyond it. 

  • The gift beyond the hardship. 

  • The knowledge beyond the time spent studying. 

  • The strength beyond the sore muscles. 

  • The skills beyond the boring practice. 

  • The energy beyond the healthy diet

  • The connection beyond the hard conversation. 

  • The loving person beyond the hate-filled deed. 

  • The caring person beyond the careless mistake. 

  • The thoughtful person beyond the thoughtless oversight. 

  • The honest person beyond the dishonest scheme. 

  • The intelligent person beyond the confusion. 

  • The helpful advice beyond the know-it-all demeanor. 

  • The order beyond the chaotic situation. 

  • The mature person beyond the immature response. 

 I do this not from some arbitrary sense of moral duty but to allow myself the joy of fully inhabiting the gift of life, which I access by looking just a little bit farther. 

Because when I attend to the good beyond the bad, I experience the good beyond the bad and my life opens to a new connectedness, a new belonging, a new hope. My life becomes safer and kinder and more loving and joyful and free. 

Because, in life, I get what I attend to. 

Because the world is whole and everything is in perfect balance. Neither “good” nor “bad” exist except in our minds. They are nothing more than mirror illusions, the one bringing the other into being because the universe is never out of balance so every attempt to see it unbalanced brings its balancing opposite with it. 

What if I were to give up the notion of good and bad in favor of an openness to, and then a trust in, what IS?

If I really want a life of peace, love and joy I can cultivate that ability: the ability to LOVE what is (which does not mean to like or prefer or seek to sustain everything, but to meet everything with LOVE):

  • The gift AND the hardship. 

  • The knowledge AND the time spent studying. 

  • The strength AND the sore muscles. 

  • The skills AND the boring practice. 

  • The energy AND the healthy diet 

  • The connection AND the hard conversation. 

  • The loving person AND the hate-filled deed. 

  • The caring person AND the careless mistake. 

  • The thoughtful person AND the thoughtless oversight. 

  • The honest person AND the scheme. 

  • The intelligent person AND the confusion. 

  • The helpful advice AND the know-it-all demeanor. 

  • The order AND the chaos. 

  • The mature person AND the tantrum.