Duality

Duality. The idea of there being two sides of something. Like the two sides of a coin. Have you ever taken the time to think about duality and human nature?

Have you ever sat down and thought about what duality means? Life is composed of many opposing forces which also complement or add value to each other. Without one you do not have the other not would you truly understand concepts such as young and old / sweet and sour / light and dark. All of these concepts have something similar. They exist on a continuum. Shades of black, white and gray. You might see the duality as akin to a pendulum - swinging from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Our experience with duality is influenced by many other factors including our upbringing, culture an so on. What one person may deem as wrong may be seen as right by another. It is always a perspective based view and, more importantly, a view that can always change. We are never truly "stuck" on how we see the world and our mindfulness practice is what supports us in this journey. Consider how you may have changed from pre- COVID times to now. What were your perspectives on good versus bad or right versus wrong? Assess what your perspectives are now. Have they changed or stayed the same?

One other interesting aspect of duality is the actual spectrum itself. The gray area between both ends of the pendulum. Has your gray area expanded? Investigate and determine if your willingness to develop a more nuanced perspective rather than focus on the extremes has grown or lessened. Are you more interested in something that is finely balanced between light and dark, or do you gravitate towards one end or the other? Investigate these view points in conjunction with your own morals, code of conduct and value system.

As the year slowly comes to an end and I pondered on duality, I came to realize that 2020 brought forward a new perspective. This year pushed us to look into something Gestalt Psychology has been focusing on for decades. We were directed to really look at the parts which make up the whole - the whole, from my perspective, being our life. We as humans were so busy trying to keep life afloat that we never really had enough time to focus on what was actually make life run. What were the cogs making the wheel turn? With more time, we have had the opportunity to assess and learn. It is my view that 2021 sets the stage for us to place all of the parts we have investigated in isolation, piece them together and watch things flow.

I will use the analogy of a car to try and explain my thinking. Imagine yourself taking your car apart and laying all of its components on the ground. You take each piece, clean it, grease it, rust proof it and even replace it if necessary. This is what 2020 represents for us. Looking within, investigating what makes us who we were and making adjustments where necessary. Next, we take all of the parts and reassemble the car. Once complete, we run the car and watch how smooth and efficient is has become. I believe this is what 2021 brings for us. We are taking the opportunity to start living in the body and mind we have, with true attention to how we react to and exist in life.

For anyone interested, I have uploaded a recent Take Me to that Stress Free Life session where we talk about duality and Gidden's Structuration Theory.

#duality#mindfulness#mindful#mindfulpractice