The Art of Nuance

I recently came across an Instagram reel presenting a bit of a “hot take” message that instantly magnetized part of me toward it with an “Ooohh, yes, that's so right.”

But then another part of me swooped in and tempered that uninvestigated buy-in: “Wait, hold on a second, yes, maybe, but also…” 

At a time when our attention is incessantly tugged at by memes, hacks, sound bites and all sorts of quick-fix propositions that try to bundle complex concepts into tidy pills we can pop to purportedly solve whatever our perceived problem of the moment is…

Attuning to nuance is more vital than ever.

Of course these minds of ours would love to land on a simple, permanent, quick-fix solution to things that feel hard or confusing in our lives.

And of course there are parts of us that would rather outsource solutions to “experts” around us than do the often difficult work of turning inward to tap into our own internal wisdom and Self-trust.

Coaching clients sometimes hear me get fired up during our sessions in response to TikTok or Instagram trends — or, more recently, to ChatGPT recommendations — luring them to believe there's only one way to achieve XYZ or proclaiming the one thing you have to do to get ABC.

Because the inconvenient truth is, there often is no quick fix.

The path toward greater personal freedom, joy and integration — much less toward collective harmony — is bumpy.

It's riddled with unexpected inconveniences and obstacles.

It takes longer than our ego would like. 

It feels more complicated than our certainty-driven mind would like.

It requires lots of different resources and practices.

It asks us to consistently water the seeds we're planting, even when we're not seeing any fruits ripening yet.

But one (of many) thing(s) we can do to support ourselves on this path toward greater individual and collective wellbeing is to accept the complex nature of living with these brains in these bodies amongst billions of other humans on this planet.

We can concede that the things that feel most challenging in this human existence are nuanced, not black and white.

We can settle into the freeing paradox that the more we accept that the deeper things in life are complex, have lots of sides to consider and likely will take some time and effort to untangle, the more quickly we become disentangled from their complexity.

We humans have incredible minds that are capable of seeing things from myriad angles. We just have to practice pausing to intentionally and curiously look at things — and one another — from those various sides and with all those shades of possibility; and to attempt to genuinely understand their depths rather than hastily boxing them into a convenient but oversimplified category.

The art of attuning to nuance enriches our experience of being human. 

So what subtle shades between the black and the white do you notice when you really tune in? 

Here's to all the richness you notice through the exploration.

Lots of Love,

Melissa

PS - If you’re curious about exploring these themes in a sweetly personalized way, be in touch about 1:1 coaching possibilities.