Life Is A Paradox

Vincent • September 18, 2017

Life is one big paradox. What’s up with that?

Consider this: you’re born, you get married, you have kids, then you die… so if you don’t get married or don’t have kids, will you live forever? Well, of course not. But it begs the question… ah, the “question” — it’s the essence of actualization. But don’t take it from me; Socrates, who in 400 BC, fostered the ideal that “questions are the answers.”

Our lives are consistently scattered with opportunities to ask questions, and make distinctions.  Dichotomies… alternative perspectives… these are the sauce of life; for without inquiry, there is no “other,” and there is no opportunity.

As we all strive for more balance, we are constantly being confronted with IM-balance. Striving for wealth amidst negative cashflow; raising kids that often seem to fly in the face of our good character; effectively conveying a message in writing, while butchering the punctuation… success achieved amidst the “gravity” that always seems to keep us tethered to a level of status quo, hindering our achievement.

Consider it: we all want more happiness, but every day each of us encounters sorrow; we idealize world peace, but only seem to get more war;  we stretch and strive, but more than often end up with less that we idealize.

What’s up with that?

I think I’ve got it figured out… It’s all about polarities; dichotomies; opportunities to make distinctions. Without darkness, light would not be possible (pause now, and make that distinction). Without evil, “good” would have nothing to overcome, and would therefore atrophy (pause now, and realize THAT distinction). Put your hand under a hot water faucet, and realize that you wouldn’t know it was hot, unless you had cold to compare it to… (do it now, and FEEL that distinction).

But as we all go through life, we are often too busy to slow down, and truly consider the distinctions; the dichotomies; the paradoxes… the sauce of life. In my life, I’ve had my share of challenges, and opportunities to make distinctions. From losing my mother to cancer at a young age, to being bullied as a kid, to suffering through divorce; but my challenges are unique to me… It is imperative that YOU consider YOUR challenges, and embrace them as situations that allowed you to become the amazing person that you are today. Now, make those distinctions…

Each day, we are confronted with wonderful challenges (opportunities to make distinctions), which are opportunities for growth and expansion. For you see, without challenge, we could not grow and become the people who we are MEANT to become, in order to overcome the challenges (paradoxes) that will face us tomorrow.

We’ve all been wired spiritually, psychologically, and physiologically to serve a higher purpose, and each of us has a responsibility in this life to discover it, and do out utmost to fulfill it.  So be grateful for the challenges / paradoxes / opportunities to make distinctions, and truly understand our “condition,” (i.e. our “plight”), so that we may overcome it, and fulfill our collective greatness as a society. It’s our choice…

It’s not always easy, but it can be satisfying, as we grow and expand into our own levels of greatness.

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