I’ve been called a pretty black-and-white kind of guy. But I love the middle. Loving the middle is different than loving grey. Grey is the combination of black and white, diluting each. The middle is the space between black and white. It honors each, while creating a third space. This third space is governed by rules that allow black and white to interact, exchange, learn, share, while keeping their full identity.
The middle might be seen as a bridge between two islands, or the mortar between two bricks. Whatever analogy you use there are a few things about the middle that I’ve found to be true.
The middle is dynamic. All ideas can come through the middle. Some more quickly than others.
The middle has to be held. The middle is enigmatic. To make sure it actually takes shape, and that its shape doesn’t collapse, it has to be held.
The middle can be strained. When everyone pulls to their side, it is the middle that is strained as it tries to hold both its form and the connections to all sides.
The middle can be run over. With everyone walking through the middle, stating ideas (and rarely listening), the middle can get crowded, and even overrun.
The middle is full of wonder. In a world where fewer of us even believe that multiple view points can occupy the same space, the middle brings wonder, exchange, and relationship.
The middle may look different for each one of us. It’s size and shape, and dynamic all vary. But it is valuable, and often necessary. I often wonder how having more spaces that provide a dynamic middle would change our current landscape?