Green is not my color: how we embrace our differences
Mar 14, 2025
Explore the fascinating dynamics of interpersonal connections, illustrated through the metaphor of colors and ingredients. Discover how embracing differences can enrich relationships rather than create hierarchies. The discussion emphasizes the importance of compatibility and sensitivity to the subtle nuances of human interactions. It advocates for a balanced approach, celebrating individuality while fostering connection. Tune in for insights that challenge conventional views on worth and create a deeper understanding of how we relate to one another.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Personal example of color preference
James Low shares a personal example of not wearing the color green even though he admires it on others.
This illustrates how personal preferences don't judge the quality of things or people.
insights INSIGHT
Rejecting Vertical Hierarchies in People
James Low rejects judging people on a vertical scale from "very wonderful person" to "shit person".
Instead, he promotes equal basic human connection without forced hierarchy or judgment.
insights INSIGHT
Compatibility Over Quality
Compatibility, like in plants or cooking ingredients, matters more than quality for connection.
Connection thrives where elements naturally flow together, not based on fixed judgments.
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Excerpt from the teaching "1/2 Dependent arising. [EN-DE] Todtmoos 10.2024": https://youtu.be/5ipIBAmnTc0
For example, you may know that there are some colors you never wear. You don’t wear green. I just don’t. It doesn’t mean that green is a terrible color. You might even admire someone else wearing green, but you don’t wear green. So, it’s kind of like that. It’s not saying this person is not a good person. It’s… it’s like seeing that we don’t want to make a vertical hierarchy of “very wonderful person” and “shit person.” But on the other hand, if you collapse the vertical axis and you say, “Well, we’re all people, we’re all in it together, it’s just nice to meet you, nice to meet you…”
But it’s quite warm today. There’s no real connection. That is something in phenomenal. Some plants go well together. If you’re cooking, some ingredients go well together; some other ingredients wouldn’t go well. That’s not a comment on the quality of the ingredient—it’s about compatibility. So, not being artificial, you know, we can work with these circumstances and just note, “Oh, it flows easily with this person and not with that person.” The implication of this is: the connection is not done by my agency. I’m not going to make it happen. It depends—depends on factors. So, this is an aspect of dependent origination. If we remain sensitive to these, uh, pulsations of possibility, we try to follow—follow a subtle middle way, not becoming artificial and not giving up on the situation, but seeing: What’s the growing edge here? Where? What is possible? And that is co-determined, co-emergent. It lies between you.
~ James Low
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Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDL5NI1SknA
James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings