Bittersweet

All the very best things in life have an undercurrent of bittersweet. Poison and wine, as Chet would say. When you really care about something this duality is ever present. Being a parent I feel this more than ever before. I love my son, I love watching him grow, and I’m all too aware that each new stage means he’s grown out of another. He’s growing up and eventually growing away. We’ve got a long runway, and I still can feel that undercurrent. When I slow down, I can feel it in every area of my life that truly matters…and I’ve learned (and am learning) to embrace it.

Embracing it is the differentiator, I believe. Without the embrace there’s no experience. There might be an event, but that’s clinical…data even. If I hold myself back enough to not feel the sadness, I’m never fully present to embrace and feel the joy, the magical moments, the love. To experience life, it must be tinged with sadness, and in some acute moments, even consumed with sadness. Hard things in life are unavoidable and inescapable. Feeling them, embracing them even, is imperative to a life well lived.