On Opposites

The word "opposite" means something diametrically different from another thing. Black and white. Happiness and anger. When you are an opposite, you have something that opposes you. Something antithetical to your nature.

But opposites are more alike than we realize. Consider a list of three words: "black", "white" and "Tuesday". Notice how Tuesday obviously doesn't belong in this list. Why? "Black" and "white", despite being diametrically different, have a lot in common. They're both colors, used to describe something perceived through sensory means. They're both present on a zebra. Meanwhile, "Tuesday" has none of those things in common.

That one's pretty obvious, so consider another list: "black", "white", and "green". Now these words are all colors, so why does green feel like it's the odd one out? I submit the following reason: Opposites belong together. Opposites, in addition to being different, complement and fill one another's voids.

There is a concept in the Chinese philosophy/religion of Taoism called yin-yang. Here's the pictoral representation:

Yin is the dark, yang is the light. Notice how they complete one another. Also notice how yin is present in yang and vice versa. The idea is this: Opposites do not merely belong together; they are a part of one another. If you look closely at the nature something, you will find its opposite hidden somewhere inside.

"Black" needs "white" to exist in a way it does not need "Tuesday" to exist; in other words "White" constitutes some part of what defines "black". A Maori proverb I like says, "Turn towards the Sun and the shadows fall behind you." Take the Sun away, and the shadows disappear. Take the shadows away, and there is nothing to turn towards anymore.

In happiness, there exists some element of grief. We can not have one without the other, because to be happy all the time is to lose our ability to contextualize what that means, what happiness is. Likewise, in absolute silence, there is a profound noise, a voice talking to me I call "me", and which you would also call "me" (but you would call my voice "you"). There is nothing louder.

I'm entranced by the paradox of opposites being part of one another. It adds dimension and profundity to an otherwise flat universe. If two diametrically opposed concepts can be more similar to each other than Tuesday can, there is some underlying harmony to the universe. Look for opposites in their opposites -- e.g. find war in peace, find strife in bliss, find tranquility in chaos, then do it the other way around -- and you'll see what I mean.

-Me