A post over at Fluent made me realize there are at least two sides to every thing. The post mentioned a persistent bout of acne (among other ailments), which got me thinking about my own constant struggle with oily skin. Which then got me thinking about my parents who at the age of 80 and 83 both still get pimples.
Yet, my parents have almost no wrinkles. I mean, yes, Dad has a couple of lines in his forehead, and Mom’s eyelids nearly cover her eyes, they’re so droopy. But Mom and Dad both have the sort of plump skin where you can push it with your finger and it bounces back. The same oil that gives them acne also preserves their elasticity.
Anyway, this got me thinking about what Natalie often said in her workshops about positives and negatives. I remember, I don’t remember. What’s in front of me, what’s not in front of me. Senile acne, no wrinkles. (Natalie never said that last one; it’s my own contribution.)
Except I think I’m remembering it wrong. It wasn’t positives and negatives. I just looked in Wild Mind, the only Goldberg book I have that’s not presently packed for the move, and I couldn’t find what I was looking for. What does she call these dual sides to things? It’s going to bug me all day if I can’t put my finger on it.
is it the underbelly?
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That’s just what I was going to say? Now it’s bugging me, too. The way it tricks our minds into looking at the flip side – yeah, I think underbelly is it, isn’t it?
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That might be it, but I’m not sure. I keep thinking about what’s there and what’s not there. Or the two Chens. Maybe it’s one of those concepts that is realized in several ways.
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Yes, the woman with parallel lives. That really stuck with me. I never did find that koan anywhere. I can’t remember where she said it was from. Do either of you?
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No. I don’t recall where she said that came from.
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