I used to think it was about balancing all the opposites within me, but slowly I have learned that it is actually “holding” things unreconciled that teaches us – leaving them partly unresolved and without perfect closure or explanation. – Richard Rohr
I love this photo. My cousins & I are on the steps of my great-grandmother’s house. I have no idea what we’re eating, what caught my attention was what I’m wearing. A skirt, dirt marks on my legs, tennis shoes that appear to be a bit muddy, & a necklace to top it off.
I spent much of my life trying to rid myself of paradoxes like that one. To be one way or the other. To fit into this label or that box. But I’ve discovered the freedom that comes from embracing the paradoxes; the grace to be unconventional.
The very name of this blog is a paradox. Cautious & creative aren’t exactly friends.
But they’re both a part of me.
A northern girl who has found a “long lost,” “meant to be born here” home in the South.
A country girl who comes alive in the bustle of the city.
A grounded girl with a rebellious spirit.
A spreadsheet loving organization junkie with an artist’s heart.
A planner whose soul is a dreamer.
A Type A who thrives on the spontaneous.
Quiet wallflower in a crowd who can talk for hours.
Lover of silence always listening to music.
A “slow life” savoring workaholic.
A homesick lover of travel.
A control freak who loves adventure.
I feel like I live with one foot on the gas & one foot on the brake at all times. But I’m learning that life isn’t about “achieving balance” but about learning to maneuver the tight rope. It’s about leaning into the tension of the paradox knowing that in the Creator’s eyes the opposites belong.
We may not understand it today…or ever. But some how, in some way, it all belongs.