Tension of Opposites - On Loop

The month of July was spent traveling here and there, highlighted by engaging conversation with old friends and the intoxicating thrill of discovering the like minds of new friends. With my old friends, one topic continued to avail itself as a worthwhile talking point, and although we did not declare it as such at the time, the topic hovered in close proximity to the "tension of opposites" theory contained in the book Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.*

The tension of opposites theory is stated thusly, within the aforementioned novel:

"Have I told you about the tension of opposites?" [Morrie] says.
The tension of opposites?
"Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.
"A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle."
Sounds like a wrestling match, I say.
"A wrestling match." He laughs. "Yes, you could describe life that way.

Someone has probably called life a beautiful struggle before - yet maybe not as poignantly as Mitch Albom did in Tuesdays With Morrie - and to this point in my own life, it's always been true. My mind is here and there but mostly it resides somewhere in between. Below are some examples of this:

Gripping with force gives way to grasping with nuanced understanding.

Resenting everything unlike yourself only to later embrace the strange.

Becoming completely at peace with a situation in which you once found yourself restless.

Days of isolation with only books and music invariably leads to memorable social outings.

Typically it isn't so apparent. There is an absolute ebb and flow to being alive. Some days are better than others. You can fret for the fact that bad times will visit you again or you can take solace in the fact that this, too, shall pass. Fully enjoy those moments of high command and momentary mastery but try to acquiesce to future events of unknowing and ignorance. 

Being human means being ineffable - capable of anything within the broad spectrum of experience. While we slowly play out this montage, we can't elude suffering indefinitely just as we can't apprehend pleasure permanently. To the best of my understanding at this point in life, the very best we can do is understand that we're locked in the beautiful struggle and employ this wisdom as frequently as possible. It is, after all, reassuring indeed to know that the bad times don't last. Likewise, acknowledging that you are in the midst of a very good moment will make it that much more valuable when you fully understand that it can't and won't last.

Alan Watts alludes to life being a game in The Book. I can't disagree, because there are inherent rules. Adhere to them or don't. I've found myself thriving when I treat life like a game and play it well. I'm not the main character nor am I ever continually a protagonist. I'm a player in the game and at any given time I may be any given thing. I'm incomplete, I'm always learning, and that won't ever stop. The moments in which I do feel complete are ephemeral, intoxicating, but finally misleading.

For now, the pendulum will continue to swing, ranging from darkness to light and back again. It will go on and on and on until it doesn't anymore. I can only resolve to appreciate the struggle for what it is, and understand it all with some semblance of grace.

* If you truly haven't read Tuesdays with Morrie, then I think you should. But then, what do I know?