Paradox

I love paradox. We normally invent words that differentiate ideas, but paradoxes unify the opposites to describe one reality. It is grounded on integration, not on delineation.

It always begs the question: can the polar opposites be unified? Is there a way to stop the conflicts of true vs. false; good vs. bad; and beauty vs. ugly?

This inevitably ends up into various rabbit holes, but intellectual and spiritual transcendence also lies ahead. In fact, once truly understood, paradoxes are pragmatic: it is concerned with life as it truly is. It is not a complication.

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paradox /ˈpær.ə.dɒks/ noun. a situation or statement that seems impossible or is difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus)

One night, as I was gazing at the sky with my favorite Sky Map app, I have realized that the stars are glistening because of the vivid darkness in the background. We always see the "stars" and/or the "moon" as the highlights of an evening landscape, but we fail to recognize the "black emptiness" that gives way to such a rich luster. If we remove the dark background, those stars that we admire would not even shine.

This insight allowed me to ponder on the reality that my entire life is a paradox: in my twenty-five years of living at planet Earth, it is through the dark experiences that light introduced itself. The proudest moments were also the ones that humbled me. Acknowledging and transcending my weaknesses strengthened me.

It is in pain that I saw beauty.
It is in sickness that I cultivated health.
It is in the bad that I appreciated the good.
It is in unfairness that I planted grit.
It is in naivety that I studied wisdom.
It is in conflict that I managed peace.
It is in despair that I found hope.
It is in hatred that I welcomed love.
It is because of the negativity that I continuously foster positivity.

WORD AS GOD

Language is a tool that we have created to make sense of the world in the same way that we have used fire to cook food/decimate neighborhoods; axes to chop woods/heads; televisions to broadcast truths/lies; movies to educate/distract; and phones to be productive/to waste time.

As a human invention, a word is a double-edged sword: it can both give and remove meaning to the concept it signifies.

"In the beginning, before the earth was made, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was there with God in the beginning. Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. In him there was life, and that life was light for the people of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it." – John 1: 1-5 (ERV)

The power of language is acknowledged in the Bible aka "the Word of the Lord." Conception starts with the Word. Without a name, life could not formally begin. It is through language and symbology that we give meaning to life. A tree exists, but its life is justified when it is given a name; otherwise, it does not have a practical use. If a mango tree is not labeled Mangifera indica, it could not be distinguished from the rest. Similarly, when a child is born, a name is given to celebrate how special of a being it is.

We invented words for distinction. It is an attempt of making meaning through differentiating. It is a survival instinct: when someone/something is given a name, it is easier to realize its role in this planet. Also, through solidifying and reifying negative experiences such as suffering, sickness, pain, and death into words, we could attain comfort, happiness, health, and vitality more easily.

Ironically, however, the greater the effort on differentiating beings and on contrasting the opposites, the more the essence of life is being missed. The tendency is to separate the negatives from the positives, and to totally extinguish the former in favor of the latter. Defining concepts may backfire.

I must pay attention on how I worship "the Word." As mentioned in the Bible, it must be a light that also shines in the darkness.

FREEDOM FROM THE PAIRS

Living solely in the pole of positives and denying the reality of the negatives would not allow me to fully experience life.

In No Boundary, Ken Wilber has explained it profoundly: freedom is found when it is acknowledged that all pairs of opposites are aspects of one underlying reality. It is fine to distinguish pleasure from pain, but it is impossible to separate pleasure from pain. All things are related to what they are not.

It is incumbent upon us to continue growing as a person, but it shall not be through manipulating life situations where the negatives are expunged and only the positives are celebrated. Both must be harmonized like the duality of yin and yang: the differences must be transcended to see how all experiences are unified to the single reality of LIFE.

TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

When I was a kid studying in a Catholic school, I was really discombobulated with the story of Adam and Eve. I could just not see the essence of this commandment from God:

"The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to work the soil and take care of the garden. The Lord God gave him this command: 'You may eat from any tree in the garden. But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die!'" – Genesis 2: 15-17 (ERV)

Why is the fruit of good vs. evil deadly? Shouldn't it be a blessing "to know?"

Now, this is what I have realized: true liberation lies when we transcend the confinements of knowledge that we made for ourselves. It is where Paradise is. I think the ultimate paradox is that we do not have to know to truly live, and that we do not have to do to truly be.

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