Of Math and Finger Paints

I like math. I understand math. It makes sense. There are rules. If you know the rules you can find the answers.

Relationships on the other hand don't make sense. I get the vague sense there are rules, but they are not easy to discern and there are about a million exceptions to every rule. I just can't seem to figure out the answers, even when I know the questions.

Finger paints are a mess. There are no rules. The only rules are what you make. And the final product isn't a nice clean derivation or set like math produces. The final product is still messy.

Relationships are a lot like finger painting. It's messy when you start. It's messy as you progress. It's messy when you finish. Things can go according to plan or drastically different than you intended and yet the process doesn't necessarily determine the final product. It just doesn't make sense to me.

And yet...

At the end of the day, no one sits back and comprehends the beauty of an algebraic function or admires the process of a geometric proof. It's that messy piece of art that's hanging on the wall. For whatever reason, pleasure is found in the randomness and beauty of colours, shapes, and designs that play by their own rules.

I've had a lot of relationship finger painting sessions the last couple weeks. It's not the way you may think. Any way, I'm exhausted trying to understand all the rules that may not actually exist. I think I need to learn to step back and appreciate the art, and stop asking what it all means.