As happens often in the world of light, hope, love and gratitude, an article auto-magically appeared in my email box this morning. After an amazing week immersed in Nia 2nd Degree Black Belt, ‘Art of Alchemy’, my heart smiled as I read the headline.
I receive both the Rivard Report and the San Antonio Express-News electronically everyday. I peruse the headlines, reading some articles that catch my eye, saving others for later, and filtering through the dark energy of many. Knowing the presence of polarities, I see the importance of Yang/Yin, dark/light, wrong/right, while understanding the alchemy that happens in the both/and
Being a warrior who questions all, I live my life in both/and. It is my purpose to open pathways for healing paved in love. I cannot do that in an either/or world. Listening to the silence, I hear the magic of sound, and all the nuances in between. Walking in the dark, I see the light, and the beauty of color that emerges in the middle.
I hope you will join me this week, as we celebrate my 60th revolution around the sun, Tuesday, January 29 at 6:30pm.
Drop by The Synergy Studio, for a beverage, a bite and bit of alchemy. Seeing you and being in commUnity is the greatest gift of all. Love donations to our non-profit, The Synergy Studio Community, will help us move our floors as we step forward into a bright future, BEing the alchemists of light and spreading the magic of love. The Synergy Studio is a healing space for everyBody.
Bring the high vibration of breath into your life by joining us this next weekend for Breath and Movement™, an introductory weekend to Transformational Breath®. Experience Friday night only, or the entire weekend. We have room for you! Click here to read more.
My classes this week will focus on the 5 Elements: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Ether, with an intent to experience the alchemy in your Body, Emotions, Mind and Spirit.
Nia FreeDance: Tuesday 9:15am, Thursday 9:15am
Nia: Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 9:15am, Sunday 4:00pm
Yoga: Thursday 12:00pm, Sunday 8:45am
With a heart filled with light, love and gratitude for you, Adelle
See the link below to the thought-filled article about living with both/and, as well as a scanned copy.
https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/Living-with-both-and-in-an-pedantic-world-of-13562939.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MySA_Daily_eEdition
Living with’both/and’ in an pedantic world of ‘either/or
‘We live in a world full of polarities and reconciling these opposites is often perplexing.
Well, which is it — “out of sight, out of mind” or “absence makes the heart grow fonder”?
Come on now and choose. It has to be one or the other, right? Maybe, maybe not. False dichotomies, false dilemmas or false choices are fallacies that dictate an “either/or” position without allowances for other positions. This type of faulty reasoning seems prevalent in the world today. “You’re either with us or against us.”
Really, says who?
The late author Robert Fulgrum was probably best known for his book “All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten,” but he also wrote one called “Maybe, Maybe Not.” In it, he explored, among other things, this idea of pairs of opposites. He recounted that at times teaching art, he would wear two buttons, one on each side of his smock. One said, “Trust Me, I’m a Teacher” and the other said, “Question Authority.”
Consider these pairs of proverbs or sayings. Look before you leap/he who hesitates is lost; better safe than sorry/nothing ventured nothing gained; don’t judge a book by its cover/clothes make the man; the squeaky wheel gets the grease/silence is golden; many hands make light work/too many cooks spoil the broth.
At first they appear contradictory, but upon further examination we see that context is key. These statements are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Instead of “either/or,” perhaps we should consider “both/and.”
Of course, under highly defined conditions there are mutually exclusive instances. For example, heads or tails in coin tosses and odd or even numbers. Someone might think that “night and day” would be an example also, but what about twilight and dawn?
We live in a world full of polarities, and reconciling these opposites is often perplexing. We use pattern recognition, comparing and contrasting to help navigate our lives. Most people are at least cursorily familiar with the Taoist symbol of universal opposites yin and yang, the circle of two “fishes” of black and white flowing from and into one another. Without going into a lengthy discussion of the properties of the elements, this symbol represents the interdependency of opposites.
One note, however, is that the contrasting dot, or “eye,” in each section represents the seed or potential of the other in each side. Thus this symbol illustrates how any pair of opposites can also be both/and instead of only either/or.
There are some people who, if they started reading this column, probably stopped before this point. They have little tolerance for the ideas contained here, which they would likely characterize as “fuzzy” thinking. They are straight and precise. Their paths are clear and exclusive of the other. The concept of either/or suits their mien.
Their existence is natural and proper. These people are the “yang” side to the “yin” of other people who are more holistic and favor the idea of both/and.
So class, your assignment, due in one week, is an essay (1,000 word minimum) with proper citations comparing and contrasting the philosophies of dualism and Monism.
Have a nice weekend!
John Eubanks is author of the book “Life Support of Another Sort,” and a former teacher and actor who lives in Converse. He can be reached at [email protected]