This and that
No one is one thing. Naoufal's core idea, in his own words, and why "we are all one" and "all are separate" can both be true.
This and that I love.
Naoufal
In his notes, Naoufal wrote two lines that look like they fight each other:
We are all one
All are Seperate
He keeps both. That is the idea behind this whole library: this and that.
What it means
No one is one thing. A person is this and that: strong and soft, spiritual and practical, a builder and a dreamer. Most of us are taught to pick a side. Naoufal’s view is that the side is not where life happens. The seam between the two halves is where growth lives.
So “we are all one” is true: underneath culture, he writes, humans are the same, and God is in each and every one of us. And “all are separate” is also true: each person chose a life, a family and a way to experience it. Both hold at once.
Three lines that sit on top of it
Naoufal’s motto for this site is short:
This and that. All is love. Life is perfect. Everything is GOD.
- All is love. Love is not one feeling among many. It is what everything is made of.
- Life is perfect. In his notes: “Life is happening for us.” Not to us.
- Everything is GOD. Not a God far away, but the same presence in every person, plant and rock.
The other view
Many people find comfort in clear categories: right or wrong, one or many, spiritual or scientific. That clarity is useful, and Naoufal does not reject it. His point is only that the categories are tools, not the truth.
One thing to try
Next time you catch yourself thinking “I am this kind of person”, add “and that”. Notice what part of you was waiting for permission.
