It's only a paradox if you cannot reconcile them. 😉 Ultimately, I see this is how we climb to a new paradigm: to hold two concepts that appear to be in conflict and value them both as "true". It feels unnatural, but with work you can move from dominating to opposition to complementarity to reconciliation.
I was using the word paradox more as a literary/language device that expresses how two seemingly opposed or contradictory elements coexist and can be reconciled despite appearances.
Because of the echo chambers and polarization that exists (in large part due to social media and algorithms that show people what they want rather than what is true or accurate), I don’t think we’ll reach nirvana unless something shifts dramatically. From my perspective, what needs to shift is our educational system bc it has churned out a lot of people who are easily manipulated by fake news, emotional appeals, loaded language, and this makes them deeply susceptible to demogouges like Trump. So there is pain and also great possibility, but I think the possibility will only bloom if we are guided by a clear and compelling purpose. (For me, that’s public education and media literacy.)
Thanks! Yes, I recall our interactions over the years. Glad that the poem was valuable to you and always curious to learn more about the effects it had on you from reading.
Beautiful is the paradox of pain and possibility.
It's only a paradox if you cannot reconcile them. 😉 Ultimately, I see this is how we climb to a new paradigm: to hold two concepts that appear to be in conflict and value them both as "true". It feels unnatural, but with work you can move from dominating to opposition to complementarity to reconciliation.
I was using the word paradox more as a literary/language device that expresses how two seemingly opposed or contradictory elements coexist and can be reconciled despite appearances.
Because of the echo chambers and polarization that exists (in large part due to social media and algorithms that show people what they want rather than what is true or accurate), I don’t think we’ll reach nirvana unless something shifts dramatically. From my perspective, what needs to shift is our educational system bc it has churned out a lot of people who are easily manipulated by fake news, emotional appeals, loaded language, and this makes them deeply susceptible to demogouges like Trump. So there is pain and also great possibility, but I think the possibility will only bloom if we are guided by a clear and compelling purpose. (For me, that’s public education and media literacy.)
Agreed. Education is nodal in how we move forward.
Brilliant. And something I needed it right now. We worked together tangentially at Microsoft.
Thanks! Yes, I recall our interactions over the years. Glad that the poem was valuable to you and always curious to learn more about the effects it had on you from reading.