Want Some Clarity? Embrace the Dichotomy
“I’m a walking dichotomy.”
I said this to someone recently, primarily in an attempt at self-deprecating humor for when I was waffling on moving forward with an action I had mixed feelings about. It created a tug-of-war within.
But, then I started thinking about the idea of being in a dichotomous state, and what that can mean as a tool rather than a self-deprecation, a deliberate dance rather than a tug-of-war.
The truth is we’re all, at times, walking dichotomies. If we weren’t life would be pretty flat, to my estimation anyway.
A dichotomy is a universe of two completely contrasting and separate things, a division of two opposite schools of thought. Light and dark. War and peace. Feminine and masculine. Analytics and creativity.
What I see is a way to utilize the idea of dichotomy, where we embrace the wisdom of the contrasting states, and foster the gifts of polarity.
The contrasting states are all about the feeling. Chances are one may give you a calmer more peaceful feeling and the other a more edgy, slightly off doesn’t-quite-belong-to-me feeling. Neither of them are wrong, potentially. Just contrasting.
In both electricity and magnetism, the two poles of polarity - negative and positive - are at opposite ends but yet are connected by a flow or charge. So, the state of polarity is held and fed by its own energy and flow, push and pull, give and take, and the power of both.
It’s really such a profound metaphor for life. It got me thinking about how polarity is what makes us interesting as people.
Opposites attract. And, in the middle of the opposites, in the midst of the dichotomy can be the place of decision. Or not.
Sitting in the polarity, the dichotomy, the middle of the contrasting states, is where understanding can start to take place within. Mixed signals happen when the waffling is outward, when you say one thing and do another because you’re not clear on which end of the polarity is the right one to lean towards for you in the situation.
Dipping into the dichotomy by choice can be a tool for getting really clear on what you feel, believe, trust and know. When you get quiet in the midst of dichotomy, the clear distinction presents itself. It’s a fork in your road of energy.
From that place, the middle of the polarity, a pause is necessary, even if it’s fleeting and instantaneous. When you’re feeling the push-pull and magnetic effects of polarity, the gift is the awareness of those two powerful forces.
Take the pause, for however long is necessary. Feel and assess the contrasting states. In that oneness, where you are the flow of energy between them, you align with your best choice.
So, am I walking dichotomy? Yeah, I can be. And, I’m okay with that.
Related: