How easy it seems to be able to see matters in the simplistic terms of either black or white.
Here's what strikes me; black and white photography is really not about those two extremes - but it is the shades of grey that provide the true picture. It is not simply the black or simply the white. . .but it is the complications in between that make it so rewarding.
I believe the same is true in life and work. . .it is not the "yes" and "no" of seeming black and white decision making. . .it is understanding the complexity, the emotional comprehension, the intellect utilized that makes the greys of work and life so rewarding.
Face it. . .it is easy to be dogmatic. It is reassuring even to claim that things are either this way or that. It doesn't really require any emotional commitment to the subject at hand. . .it eschews inquiry or multi-dimensional thought.
Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's somewhat persnickety sleuth, often referred to the little grey cells: using one's brain. Often I find that in popular culture we neglect using our own grey matter, choosing instead for the easy way out - the quick flight to either black or white.
Ultimately, however, one does not win this way. We win through inquiry. We win by being willing to be wrong - and then figuring out what it takes to be right. We win through the utilization of emotional intelligence. We win by using our brain. . .and heart.
Black and white thinking really does very little of this - it's vend-a-decision - and it's a waste. Utilizing the resources we've been given to be thoughtful, to be strong. . .that is what allows us to explore the greys of an issue. And that is what enables us to bring a decision to life.
"It is the brain, the little grey cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within - not without." - Hercule Poirot
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