A life full of paradoxes

We live in an “all or nothing, I’m right and I need to be heard” society. However, some of the most important truths in life are contradictory. They seem like impossibilities, yet experience proves them to be obvious over and over again.

Of course, I have to point to the George Carlin’s treatise on The Modern Paradox. Here’s a short snippet:

“We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.”

Photo by Akil Mazumder on Pexels.com

It’s not just Carlin. I find examples constantly throughout my life.

—The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. I like to think of myself as educated. I know things. But I heard a comedian joke about this the other day. If you were dropped off on another planet, or taken back to the past, how would describe the lightbulb, electricity, or the smartphone. Um, help, it’s this thing that lights up? Good luck with that.

—The more connected we get, the more isolated we feel. We have the technology at our fingertips yet, we’ve never felt more alone. More than 1 in 3 adults aged 45 and older feel lonely in the United States according to the Center for Disease Control.

—The more you’re afraid to fail, the more likely you are to fail. We live in a culture where no one wants to fail or make a mistake, but yet some of the greatest minds known to man, everyone from Thomas Edison to Albert Einstein, point out the need to fail and learn from our mistakes.

I’ve been thinking about paradoxes lately because they seem to be everywhere. Our politicians and political parties like to say they’re right and the other side is wrong, but I keep thinking to myself that there’s more than one right answer to get to the truth.


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52 thoughts on “A life full of paradoxes”

  1. Thanks for these thoughts and reminders, Brian.

    I think (am experiencing) that my best life is lived in the middle of the tension of paradox. And, I’m learning this requires heaps and heaps of mindfulness and faith, curiosity, and grace.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I’m right there with you David. Right in the middle. I feel that’s the sweet spot for grace and mindfulness. Too many folks live in the extremes and I think they’re missing out on what life is really all about. At least that’s my two cents.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. George Carlin’s paradoxes say it all. I often marvel at the paradox of capitalism as we are confronted with it now, or is it neo-liberalism: our economy only keeps ticking over if we’re convinced to keep buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Our economies seem to have become dependent on people spending, no matter what. There’s something seriously wrong with this mindset. Seriously. We’ve come a long way from when credit cards were first introduced on the mid-late 60s, and you couldn’t get one unless you had good credit. Now they beg you to take their credit cards and are happy to let you get yourself in debt. To say this is irresponsible is being very polite. But, of course, these days everyone’s being encouraged to engage in online gambling, too. Greed, greed, greed.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I love the Carlin quote about multiplying possessions but reducing values…and I feel the same way about all the various ‘channels’ we have – ostensibly to ‘connect’ but they have an inverse action…making people feel LESS connected, more alone – just as you said. This is a gem of a post, Brian. Thank you so much. 🥰

    Liked by 2 people

  5. George Carlin was a brilliant social critic. On the ball and saw things clearly and not afraid to say it. Plus he was funny.
    Life feels like it has become more paradoxical than ever, hasn’t it?

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Life and human nature are full of paradoxes for sure. Like the Carlin quote, it says it all.
    As for the truth, is there any?
    I guess our view on life and subjects change all the time. We may find our own truth at different stages in life.
    Good day to you Brian.

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Life is just full of paradox. I’ve found it to be so true that the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. Do I know just enough to get by? Should I be learning more? Where should I go to learn it, anyway? Too many questions arise with the learn more, know less paradox.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. That Carlin quote puts modern life in perspective. “What is the truth?” is a question my zoom group attempts to answer every week. We discuss religion, current events, media and politics. What I’ve discovered is I’m exhausted when it’s over — and we all have our own beliefs and truths.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. More degrees and less sense. That is so funny. I’m in my first job. I’m shadowing another coworker. We need some information. He asks me where I think we should go to get it . . . from the executive in charge of the customer account, the fancy new database that the company had, or the blue collar worker helping with the printing. Of course, our best source for the info was the regular guy who knew everything about the company. More degrees, less sense. Ha, ha.

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Life works in truly strange and paradoxal ways. Everything you said, especially how isolated we are despite the hyperconnectivity, rings so true to me. I think the best way to remedy this is to be open and humble and realize that, as you said, the more we learn, the more we realize that we don’t know!

    Liked by 4 people

  12. OMG Brian, these are spot on. Love this summation: “We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.” Can I get an AMEN boys and girls? 🙏🏽 I loved me some George Carlin, because he made you laugh but made you think about why you were laughing! Excellent messages! 🥰💖😊

    Liked by 2 people

  14. So interesting to think of life in this way and to consider where exactly are we going with all these false improvements but no progress. Life is definitely a paradox when you look at it this way. Great post, you’re making me think. Hugs, C

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Oooh, what a captivating post. A truth bomb delivered with humor and style. There is more than one right answer and anyone that says otherwise is just misdirecting for their own purposes. Great post, Brian!

    Liked by 2 people

  17. Perfectly worded post.
    I agree that life is filled with paradoxes. Essentially the paradoxes arise because we strive to define every stage with a definitive set of indicators – as if to show that life exists on a straight line; while we exist in a multidimensional reality. The compounding factors like advancing technology and isolation brought about as its result are introducing us to different uncharted dimensions in reality which we can’t fathom yet. This is the age where the so-called developments are taking place at an alarming pace, while our minds are racing to catch up.

    Liked by 2 people

  21. Hi Brian, Carlin’s words as well as the other quotes are so true. Life is definitely filled with paradoxes, and you really make us think. I feel as I get older, things are only getting worse. How sad is that! But there is the bright side to everything. We just have to open our eyes to it for the light to shine in. Great post!

    Liked by 4 people

  23. So much truth in your words! Also, no one wants to struggle in life when it’s what makes us stronger and better as individuals. We live in a poster world where everyone is happy online but that’s not how real life is.

    Liked by 3 people

  26. Thought provoking article Brian. Man, that word “Paradox” is an interesting word yet it is very true and applicable in today’s way of life.

    I agree that we have more knowledge, more experts in the field yet more problems. We multiplied our possessions yet undermined our values, that is life. However, in as much as we live in a paradox world, we can bring back the values. We can read more books, we can pray more not just seldom, we can reduce the level of drinking and drink less or water even since it is 100% healthy💯🙏

    Great blog post overall💯

    Like

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