Opposites, Paradoxes and Polarities, Oh My!

I've been thinking a lot lately about paradoxes and polarities, those situations in our lives where we are stuck between two seemingly contradictory elements that exist side-by-side, challenging us to reconcile them.

This morning, while sitting in one of my favorite cafes and reading Dr Iain McGilchrist's The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World, I was struck by his discussion of the concept of both competition and cooperation that underlies functionality in our brains.

He used Hegel’s metaphor of a plant’s progression from bud to flower, then from flower to fruit to illustrate how one stage does not negate the previous one but instead fulfills it, carrying it upward into something entirely new. Similarly, although aspects of brain functionality may be seen as oppositional, they are ultimately working toward the same ends—each contributing its unique strengths to a shared and sometimes greater goal.

McGilchrist writes, “Things and their opposites depend on one another for their being, bring about something new through their opposition, and ultimately co-create the world.” This idea resonates deeply with me when I consider the different polarities we navigate in our own lives.

Holding opposing forces in tension such as competition and cooperation, certainty and doubt, individuality and connection can be uncomfortable, but it also opens the door to transformation. Relinquishing the desire or need to “choose sides” can allow for something entirely new to emerge.

What if, instead of seeing contradictions as obstacles, we could shift our mindset and see them as collaborators in the larger process of our growth? What new possibilities might be available to us in this letting go?