Bring back the &

The English alphabet didn’t always go from A to Z. If you’d be learning your ABC’s in the 19^th century, it’s very likely that your alphabet would have had a 27^th member following Z – that member was &.

The very first ampersand was a ligature – that is, a character consisting of two or more letters joined together. The symbol can be traced as far back as some graffiti on a Pompeian wall around the 1^st century CE.  It joined the letters e and t, of the Latin word et, meaning “and.”  When the 27^th & was referred to it was called & per se, and, meaning “& by itself is the word and.” That read as “and per se and” which eventually evolved into ampersand.

Why bring it back?

I used to think life was about deciding what thing to do and what thing not to do.  What to accept and what to deny. What to cheer, what to boo. Right and wrong were clear. I listened to others, followed their protocols. I had an either/or view of myself and my relationships.  A simple view. Accurate then.

Now I think life isn’t either/or. “It depends” and “Hum, I can see that” start my conversations. Rather than gripping an automatic blackness or whiteness, I’m relaxing into paradoxes – those seemingly self-contradictory statements or propositions that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. This view reveals more of life– and by extension, more of others and me. Not as simple, just more robust and vibrant. Accurate now.

A both/and view grants different perspectives equal oxygen and validity. I find that to be true within an individual and, as well, within relationships. Both/and acknowledges a joining of,  an allowing for, the past with the present to coexist.  Past: Ohioan, high school English teacher, straight, married 20 years, divorced. Present: Californian, leadership coach, lesbian, married 27 years and still counting.    A joining together of contrasting ideas is what the atmosphere represents to me. Its graceful lines encourage me to remove sharp, absolute edges, let unimportant things slide off, put cherished things in the curve for safe keeping.

It’s OK that & no longer follows Z.  I’m less interested in following, more interested in generating. & that works for me.