Arjun Khemani

So many of us—so often in life, as though always—have the tendency to make everything—every choice, decision, person, or article we like “or” dislike—an either…or situation. It’s always either this is good or that is good. And it always ends bad because, according to this principle way of living and thinking, some choice will always be the “bad” or the “wrong” choice, which will cause all the bitterness. And so I believe that this topic is worth addressing. By simply replacing the word “or” with “and” may not only just solve the “either…or” dilemma so many of us need to face but also create more love in the world.

We always think either this is good or that is good. Either this is the right choice or that is the right choice. In most cases, at least we think in that way, there can’t be a decision or a belief in which both choices and alternatives are good and are “right”. We just think that this is better than that.
– Who’s the greatest footballer of all time? It’s either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, they say
– It’s either product X that’s better than Y, or it’s Y which is better than product X
– It’s Apple or Android. You’ll have Apple fans debating on the internet why their “adored” technology company is so much better than Samsung and vice-versa
– Democratic or Republican
– My race or your race. My freedom or your freedom. My country or your country. One has to be the better of the two

You can add countless other objectives and opinions. But if you only think in an either…or way, no one — no one, no opinion or decision is actually going to be better. Who do you think you are? Even if you’re the world’s most powerful human being, you still cannot possibly out of 7 and a half billion people make everyone to believe in your “imagined” reality’s view on a specific topic.

We need to live in an “AND” world. Not an either…or one. Start accepting the fact that there isn’t only one thing that’s better than the other. It is X and Y. They both have a place in this world to stand among the top. We can co-exist and our distinguishing opinions about any topic too, can co-exist. We can reach “there” together even if our paths aren’t the same.

The more you start using the word “AND” and restrict using “OR”, that’s when you’re really accepting the world and yourself. This world is big enough, I believe for two opinions to co-exist—together—and live in peace.