The Law of Three

Father, Son and Holy Spirit — Affirm, Deny and Reconcile.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Yesterday, my friend had to let go of his son, who had suffered from cancer. He said to me how wrong it felt, to see the son die and live on as father. On the other hand, he was happy for his son, because he could tell how relieving death was for him. We cried and laughed due to both, sadness and relief. Everything felt so wrong and so right in one same moment. Life and death. So close together. Tears and a smile. What a tense moment this was.

“Tension. That is, what being in this human body is all about,” was what he said before we hugged us good-bye. “Tension is our survival force. Building up tension, holding the tension, and enjoying the tension. We need to feel life. To be alive. It is all about that tension. Tension makes us grow.

The building-up-tension is the intention, the action that leads into the next unknown. The holding-the-tension means the endurance, the power to resist what we come across. The enjoying-the-tension part,” he went on, “is what we call resilience. We reconcile with our inner strength.”

“Means that we are,” I replied, “just now in the enjoying-the-tension moment?” He nodded with a smile. “Then tell me,” I asked, “what will it be, our next intention, our next adventure into the unknown? And will we be able to resist? And to enjoy even more next time we succeed?”

“It is all happening right now,” he answered, “all three together. Building up, holding, and enjoying tension. Magic but true.” He blinked with his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, kissed me on the cheek and turned around. I am not sure if it is a real memory, but I recall him whistling a Christmas song as he walked away.

And I, I had my next blog in my head. The last words of my friend reminded me on The Law of Three, once taught by the Russian philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff.

Gurdjieff was maybe one quiet misunderstood philosopher of his times. And yet, the concept about the Law of Three to me is brilliant, now even more than before, right after the conversation with my friend. It is based on an ancient metaphysical principle of transformation. It holds the idea that three forces must be present at the same time for anything to be created or to materialize. The law speaks about an active — affirming —…