Paradoxical Duality

So, I’m driving to work yesterday, absent mindedly considering an article that stated that liberal professors are “noticing” liberal intolerance. What struck me was the irony. How could you claim to be tolerant, and yet become intolerant? I had written an essay about that very subject in high school, and in my rush to get out of the door, was trying to remember what I had written.

I’m driving on autopilot, nothing but the slight whoosh of the car  to distract me, (I totally forgot my phone at the house, which I usually use for music)  and it hits me. The universe is one huge contradiction… and  it’s not.

Stick with me here. It’s about to get weird. It has been discovered that particles, once thought to act similar to tennis balls, actually are everywhere and in a single place. Simultaneously. That is freaking weird. Imagine if you were playing wall ball with yourself. Paint the ball, and throw it. The ball would leave a mark where you threw  it, right? Which does happen. What’s weird is, if you close your eyes, while you throw the ball, and you have a friend look at the wall in a mirror, your friend will see 5 balls, and 5 marks.

Now, that’s the fundamental nature of the universe. What you expect is a solid, single object, isn’t…and  it is. Thus we have arrived at Paradoxical Duality. And the answer to my tolerance question. The perceived tolerance of the students at these campuses, is actually making them more intolerant. This is because, the more that you see the world through the lense of acceptance and tolerance, the more you must also notice intolerance. The more you notice intolerance, the more intolerant you must be toward intolerance.

Have I confused you yet? Let’s se a simpler example: a full glass cannot take more liquid. Meaning, if you believe you know everything, you cease to learn. The paradox is more apparent in reverse. If you believe you don’t know much, the more you can actually begin to know.

That’s great and all, but where is the practicle application? What good is it to go this deep if it’s only for the sake of going deep? Fair enough. You can use this knowledge to tremendous effect. It’s easy, and well, it’s not.

It’s a change in mindset. You must truly accept the paradox in life. For example, if you love someone, and I mean LOVE them, you must accept that there will be a day when they are no longer with you. Whether you spend the next 60 years together and they die, or you break up after a year, the principle remains the same. In accepting that, that person will eventually leave you, you can be prepared for when that day comes.

Or, to take a lighter look, take the example Twenty One Pilots give us. “Since we know that dreams are dead, and life turns plans upon their head; I will plan to be a bum, so I just might become someone”. Translation: if I plan to leave all options open to me and not follow a singular path, I just might find my way.

Final example, this is probably not a new discovery. There is, afterall, nothing new under the sun. If I accept this premise, and let go of dreams of grandeur, this article just might become something that makes a splash.