My dad once owned a sailboat with another physician. They named her Paradox. Get it? I appreciated the pun then, and I appreciate the concept now.

Paradox means holding two opposing, contradictory points as equally true. If you need everything tidily compartmentalized, paradox is tough, because life itself is full of paradox. Science and theology are both rife with paradox. You are packed with paradox.

The best way to deal with paradox is not to. We don't have to. Personally, it becomes an exercise in humility. I face myself in the mirror and say, "Look you–I know you like to puzzle everything out, but you can't. I know you like to be in control, but you're not. For everything you think you understand, there are a thousand things you don't. Things can be both X and not X. You, for example, are a loving human being…and a bitch. Our world brings horrible suffering, yet at the same time provides limitless joy and wonder. Some of the best examples of paradox are found in the Bible; reread the Beatitudes (Matthew 5;1-12)–holy paradox! That's the way things are. In short, get over yourself."

"Get over yourself." Best self-advice I ever offer, and I offer it a lot more frequently than I want to admit.

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.