Dualities & Paradoxes

by Valerie A. Kelly

Dualities.

The right and wrong of any argument.
The linear versus process of problem-solving strategies.
The macro and micro of perspective.

You get the idea.

That which makes existence interesting, yet, is the bane of most intelligence.  Complex, yet simple.  Seemingly absurd propositions that are proven true.  Seemingly true propositions that prove to be absurd.  Paradoxes.  Ironic twists.  Puzzles. 

Good thing I love puzzles.

Literature, of course, would not exist without conflict, without antagonists and heroes.  Religion would not exist without false profits, umm, I mean PROPHETS, preaching to turn your back on false prophets.  Energy would not exist without expending energy.  Death would not exist without birth. And, new would not exist without old.  Philanthropy would not exist without greed.  Cures, in their origins, are more lethal than illnesses.

The dark versus light of moral themes.
The life and death of our existence.
The ideal versus real of life experiences.

It just happens to be that my SECOND-favorite poem "of all time" brilliantly demonstrates the futility of being futile ... that a person who deeply desires to die actually has self-justification to live ... and that the very justification is generated from her own sense of incompetence and failure ... which created the desire to die in the first place.   Resume' is a depressing, distressing and sometimes shocking poem for readers who are not depressed.  Yet, it is an intensely inspirational and positively motivational poem to readers who ARE depressed and considering taking their own lives.*  Dorothy Parker WOULD know about suicide, of course, having botched her own attempts on quite a few occasions, yet, ironically succeeding to kill herself later in her life after giving up her quest to do so. Hmmm.

Taxes would not exist without the demands of the taxed.  Heroes always fall off their pedestals, yet admirers always act surprised at the fall.  Infinity is finite.  Humans strive for perfection, yet are inherently imperfect because they are human.  Truth always contains falsehoods.   Hmmm.

My FIRST-favorite poem "of all time" is from the Tao (pronounced "dow") and includes the lines: "bend and be straight", and "yield and overcome".  It also states "the spoken Tao is not the Tao".  So, the words used by the poet to describe the Tao cannot actually BE the Tao if identified in the words he used to speak of the Tao.  Wow!  Ironic how, from the Tao, which shows that power is an illusion and dogma is never truth, came the first organized religion that used the Tao as a basis for dogma to control a society and regulate military operations so it could conquer and control entire continents.  Hmmm.

The love and hate within relationships.
The faith versus facts of seemingly hopeless situations.
The global versus community agendas within politics.

Food for thought, these paradoxes.  And, life IS full of them.  So, life, itself provides the puzzles to ponder.  Not for the faint of heart, however, since paradox and duality demands a clear look at what most folks would consider squeamish, distasteful and uncomfortable.  Life, thus paradox, requires that we sit in the same room with despair without losing hope.  It requires that we look at the unwashed without becoming unclean.  It demands that we wade through garbage without getting it stuck to the bottom of our feet.  Duality insists that we embrace the anxiety created by its chasms, so that it no longer is catalyst for anxiety.  And, paradox ultimately requires that we see and appreciate the absolute beauty that can only flourish and sustain itself from the nutrients provided by absolute shit.

The compatible colors found on opposite ends of the color wheel.

I always loved puzzles, riddles, irony, sarcasm, dry humor, and the word "conundrum".

And...I shall post just some of that which I see.

* (And, don't worry, folks ... THIS writer embraces life.)  
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For those interested, the following is Dorothy Parker's poem, Resume':

Razors pain you.
Rivers are damp.
Acid stains you.
Drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful.
Nooses give.
Gas smells awful.
You might as well ... live.