THE UNBELIEVABLE BELIEVABLE AND RATIONAL PARADOX OF LIFE
Since the evolution of man, the greatest and most desirable goal of man is to understand the tenets of the good life. Through curiosity, several theories have been sparked and the Enlightenment Period of History introduced inductive and deductive reasoning, putting reason, evidence, and science in almost every nook and cranny of the world to this day. In a bid to get a grip on these theories, young kids are sent to school to learn the foundations of this knowledge, mastering the basics of Mathematics, English, Sciences, Economics, and even World History. As we advance through the various levels of education, we learn theories of reason and even life. In Mathematics, we taught about proportions and variations; Physics buttresses these variations across scopes of Electromagnetism and Mechanics; Chemistry emphasizes these variations in its scopes of Stoichiometry and even Organic Chemistry; and Biology buttresses these variations across its spheres of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Populations. However, at the end of it all, there’s a huge catch, and the sad part? Most people never realize it until college is done and the unscripted and harsh horizon of life is upon them.
Mathematics may have taught us through direct variation that as one side of an equation increases so does the other side of the equation. In Mathematics, Chemistry, or Physics, there is certainty of our logical applications and solutions. This is only so because these are disciplines; however, such certainty cannot be applied to life. Life is not a discipline – it is only a game of paradoxes, and all sorts of Mathematical theories will never solve the paradox of life. By treating life like a discipline, you risk life making a fool of yourself. In Mathematics, we are taught that more + more + more = MORE. However, in life, there are several situations where less + less + more ~ MORE. Note the difference: In the case of life, an approximation sign (~) is used rather than the equal sign (=) for Mathematics because life holds no certainty – There is only hope because tomorrow is not even certain. Ever heard the proverb, “More haste, less speed”? That gives you an insider into the grotesque nature of life. Are you lost? If you are, then you’re living life through this paper.
Why is life this way? Why can’t we just have peace? Why can’t we just have the dream life we want? Sadly, this is possible, but so uncomfortable to actualize. Life is an orientation and representation of the Backwards Law – the more we pursue and desire positive experiences, the farther away from them we become. As proposed by Alan Watts and eloquently put by Mark Manson, “The pursuit of a positive experience is a negative experience while the acceptance of a negative experience is indeed a positive experience.” This probably got you more perplexed, but it’s true: The more you try to practice happiness, the unhappier you will become. The more you try to please others, the more rejections you will face. Flipping the scenario, when we stop trying to be happy all the time and accept life for what it is, the happier we will become. Also, the more we stop trying to put people on a pedestal, the more we will attract. This is reality; you either accept and make your life worth living or denounce it and become vulnerable to major depression.
Math may teach us more, more, more, but life is majorly a valley of less, more, more, less, more. Life is unfair and indirect. This is why spontaneity is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. This is why failures become successes. This is why sociopathy, partial neuroticism, and narcissism. It is never straightforward but will never always be crooked. This is why the more we worry about what others think of us, the more depressed we may become. The worst part? We still do it anyway. There are the paradoxes of life – they may seem unfair but are what gives beauty and spice to our lives.
Of course, life is a paradoxical problem. Why? To be happy, we have to go through the uncomfortable toils of eating healthy and performing intense cardiovascular workouts. To be happy, we have to work through several jobs and even build our own business to become financially free. To be happy, we have to go through several uncomfortable and annoying conversations with our partners to keep our relationship steady, or else we risk getting lonely. The more we try to improve ourselves, the more bored and unhappy we become. This is the beauty of life. Life is not and will never be straightforward; the straighter you try to make it, the more crooked and disjointed it will appear.
Treat life like a game and not a discipline. Accept the perplexity and injustice of its paradoxes; be calculative and not naïve; take full responsibility for your actions, and most importantly, please have some fun in this game. Accept the reality of the negative experiences so that you can actualize a positive experience. As always, we are all in this paradox together. We Rise By Lifting Others.
