Okay I know this makes me a huge nerd, but I love the subject of the English language. I was in AP English and Literature in high school and it is still one of my favorite topics. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, analysis, and my favorite - literary devices. And my favorite literary device? Paradoxes. I've always loved the idea that it takes both an idea and its opposite in order for the idea to exist in the first place. Are things black and white or are they just different shades of grey? It's possible to believe both extremes at the same time! Whenever asked to describe myself I almost always use the phrase "a walking paradox". I will admit that I could possibly be the weirdest person you know. I'm so "on the fence" about everything that I've been told that one can never guess where I stand on any topic. For example: I'm a Christian. I read the Bible and pray daily. I believe in integrity and doing good, but I also believe in karma and the law of attraction. I believe having sex before marriage is healthy, that same sex marriages are just as holy as opposite sex marriage, that having relationships with multiple people is not wrong if everyone is open and honest about it. I believe a life is a life the minute the egg is fertilized and I could never ever get an abortion, but I believe it should always be an option for others and I'll never judge someone for getting one or refer to it as murder... Stuff like that. This isn't supposed to spark a huge pro-choice/pro-life or religious debate. It's simply an explanation to how much I love paradoxes. I'm going to compile a list here of some of my favorites. Enjoy!
"How uncanny an animal this life was, that you had to seize it and let go of it at the same time, that you had to enjoy but also plan, live every minute and die every moment" - Vikram Chandra
The days are long, but the years are short. - Gretchen Rubin
Be Emily. Accept myself, but also perfect my nature.
Think about myself so I can forget myself.
Work on your own happiness so you can make other people happier.
Lighten up and don't take oneself so seriously. But also, take oneself more seriously.
Don't waste time - Learn to spend time efficiently. Don't forget to wander, play, fail, read at whim.
Don't lose your ambition, but be free from envy and fear of the future. Live fully present in the moment.
Be mindful of the moment. Enjoy each to the fullest. Reflect on the past to learn from mistakes. Remember errs and then forget. Plan for the future. Go with the flow.
Key elements of happiness: Control, Mastery, Novelty, Challenge
Everything matters and nothing matters
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Everything matters more than we think it does, and, at the same time, nothing matters so much as we think it does. The merest spark may set all Europe in a blaze, but though all Europe be set in a blaze twenty times over, the world will wag itself right again.” - Samuel Butler
In being happy, one might not always feel happy.
Somewhere, keep an empty shelf; somewhere, keep a junk drawer.
Flawed can be more perfect than perfection.
Worse is better.
Go slow to go fast.
Do it now. Wait.
Think big. Think small.
“There are trivial truths and great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.” - Niels Bohr
“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up.” - Mark Twain
"If there is an exception to every rule, then every rule must have at least one exception; the exception to this one being that it has no exception." "There's always an exception to the rule, except to the exception of the rule—which is, in of itself, an accepted exception of the rule."
"Moderation in all things, including moderation"
"I know that I know nothing at all."
It seems like you can replace any component of a ship, and it is still the same ship. So you can replace them all, one at a time, and it is still the same ship. However, you can then take all the original pieces, and assemble them into a ship. That, too, is the same ship you began with.
Balancing my performing life with my serving life often feels like a paradox. I love performing and want to do it as much as possible, and obviously I would love to be paid for it all the time, but that is just simply not the case right now. I must offer to do shows for free sometimes or risk hardly doing any shows at all. Also, there is a lot of time and money needed to dedicate to improving my craft. Performers require many coaches and classes to perfect their skills - voice coaches, singing lessons, acting classes, dance classes, etc. These things cost both time and money. My night-time job at a fine dining restaurant is fantastic. I make good money there and I enjoy it, but it only earns me enough to pay for the basics of food, transportation, and living expenses. So my days are free to take the dance classes I need, but I don't have the money to pay for them. So I took a second job that I work in the day time. This job provides me with enough money to pay for all the coachings and classes I need, but now I don't have the time to do them because I'm always working. So the paradox is that I either have the time to do classes but not the money, and if I work more to make the money, I no longer have the time to put it to good use.
Just some ideas to mess with your mind a little. I would love to hear any relevant paradoxes you feel in your life!
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So... anyone want to go for coffee this month? ;-)