One of the things I have come to appreciate about living in London is that here, more than anywhere else I've ever been or lived, the past and the future are in constant debate with one another. They wrestle, sometimes constrain each another, and the tension between the two can be exasperating. Because it's a fight between well-matched opponents. And the result is an environment and a citizenry that's dynamically open, stubbornly opinionated, brash and gently polite all at once.
So I've been thinking about the value of the "good fight." And I've come up with 5 well-matched opponents that particularly interest me.
Transformation and Tradition
Intuition and Evidence
Transience and Permanence
Humanity and Technology
Individuality and Community
Interesting stuff lies in the ambivalent spaces between these pairs of seeming opposites. Opportunity emerges from the creative abrasion that happens when you force them into the boxing ring together. I'm not talking harmonious yin and yang here. I'm talking about messy arguments, heated challenge, a fight to the finish that may or may not end in a tie.
I wonder what other good fights we might instigate. Any thoughts?
That is a great list. Perhaps somewhere in between the second two is Matter and Spirit. This could also termed as: Non-Dual Permanence and Evolutionary Growth.
ReplyDeleteThis refers to the concept of all matter and life (even time) arising from an unchanging field of energy- always here, before time and after time. Both modern physics and ancient mystics support this claim (Intuition and Evidence). Yet from that unchanging field all things we consider "real" came. Time, matter, energy, life, growth, intelligence and lastly consciousness (some times). At the pinnacle of consciousness, awareness of the unchanging field becomes evident and the whole process is like a mirror on itslef.
Doug: WOW.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to find an opponent for Spirit. Muchas gracias amigo.