The state of between – we all live there.
We think, simplistically, that it is at the boundaries of between, where life is defined. No, mon cherie, it’s what’s between that defines us.
How about, between a rock and a hard place?
Between this and that…
Between now and then…
Between up and down…
There’s always something between; never one or the other, but some variable in between.
Between dusk and dawn, there’s day.
Between dark and light, there’s twilight.
Between the awesome and awful, there is just being, or the mundane, or ordinary.
Between hills and valleys, are plateaus.
Between a stimulus and response, there is at least one thought.
Between the old and new, lie the used; remains; sameness; what’s left; what stays.
Between the past, and the future, is the present.
Between rest and recreation, there is employment.
Between consumption and waste, there is productivity.
Between you and me, my favorite season is autumn, briefly and transitionally, between summer and winter. It’s the time when like no other, we can use both a blanket and a fan, to feel truly cozy. It’s time for long sleeves, fuzzy socks, long pants, light jackets and hot tea. I don’t even mind breaking out the moisturizer, since it means the glow on my skin is no longer from humidity. Keep this between you and me, because some people don’t love autumn like we do.
Between older and younger, is middle-age.
Between left and right is the middle; middle of the road; middle-ground.
Eighth century Chinese poet, Sen-ts’an said, “The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose; Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease.” So, between pro and con, and between pick and choose, is truth?
Between extremes, is moderation.
Between hard and soft, is just right (Can you say Goldilocks?).
Between black and white, is the gray area.
There’s always something mitigating the extremes, the polarities. There’s a maybe for every definitive.
Between the sky and the ground, are we.
“How are you?” Somewhere moderately good, between ill and well; “fair-to-middling.”
Between solid and liquid, is vapor.
The common denominator, is between (think three).
I’m reminded of the old adage to marrying couples – “don’t let anything come between you.” The reality is, stuff and people will constantly come between you.
It may be the nature of two – to become three, with between bridging the gap.
Our task as couples is to accommodate that stuff and those people who come between us, while preserving and protecting our partnership. There will always be between. How we handle the stuff between, in fact determines the substance of our partnership.
Between asleep and awake, is insomnia.
Between health and illness, is stasis.
Between sanity and insanity, is denial.
Between good and bad, is compromise.
Between cold and hot, are both cool and warm.
Between happy and sad, is existence.
Between the start and the finish, is this.