Embracing the Paradox
One of the fruits of our spiritual practices is the gift of expanded awareness. We grow our capacity to broaden our vision and perspective, as well as our ability to consider the perspectives of others. This gives us an eagle-eyed view of the world around us.
And when we’re viewing life from the eagle’s perch, we begin to notice a theme – that all of life is paradoxical and constantly changing. This human existence is one of duality - birth/death, hot/cold, light/dark... and more than one thing can be true at the same time.
According to a foundational Buddhist teaching, we are doomed to be blown about by the Eight Worldly Winds unless we engage in spiritual practice. These Eight Worldly Winds are: pleasure/pain, gain/loss, praise/blame, fame/disrepute. They are constantly arising and passing away, beyond our control.
Nothing lasts forever. When we open to this truth, we discover that there’s no need to cling to or resist anything. We can learn to trust in the mystery of life and have confidence in the rhythms and cycles. Cultivating this discernment and balance of mind allows us to be with reality as it is and to meet it with an inner peacefulness and freedom.
Looking around at the world, there is no shortage of suffering. Many people and situations are vying for our attention and energy. But we have a choice. We can reclaim our attention and choose where to deliberately place our energy.
It is a strategy for people who desire power over others to sow seeds of fear, chaos, and helplessness. If we feel disempowered and overwhelmed, we tend to look to others who seem more powerful and capable to save us. But inevitably, their hunger for power will lead them to maintain a hierarchy of dominance rather than empowerment.
When we understand this, we can reclaim our sovereignty - our own empowerment. Instead of wringing our hands as the unstable structures and institutions collapse all around us, we can channel our energy and attention toward creation. Toward connection. Toward joy. We can simultaneously grieve what is dying and falling away and celebrate what is being born and created.
Joy is our birthright. As is love and peace of mind. We need not feel ashamed for delighting in our brief and precious life. It doesn’t mean that we’re willfully ignorant of the suffering in the world. We can embrace the paradox. Life is beautiful and brutal. Perfect and a mess. In a process and already complete.
Joy is a powerful form of resistance against oppression and domination. Cultures all over the world have known and practiced this for thousands of years through drumming, singing, dancing, ritual, and ceremony. Joy and playfulness are contagious, and arguably moreso than fear.
I encourage you to consider this for yourself. Can you stand on the eagle’s perch and see the paradox? Can you do the work that you’re here to do, knowing that, although it will never solve any problems completely, it is enough? Can you create enough space in your heart to hold it all?