By the Very Rev. J. Pittman McGehee
A paradox is a statement of opposites, both of which are true. Our egos don’t do paradox very well. The ego is an either/or organ–its job is to differentiate. In fact, most situations are either and or. The Zen philosopher, Suzuki states: “If it isn’t paradoxical it isn’t true,” G.K. Chesterton claims that: “A paradox is the truth standing on its head in order to get our attention.” A current hobbyhorse I am riding is that, everything matters and nothing matters. I have written a poem to witness to this opinion.
MATTER
There are two worldviews that matter:
Everything matters and nothing matters.
Each enfolds into the other. So it is, that
In the first, every heart beat and breath
Drawn matters. Living mindfully in the
Moment means that each second is second
To none. Taste, touch, sound, smell and
Sight are Blake’s inlets of the soul. Every
Moment is a movement into the whole,
Where everything matters. Don’t miss a
Single second, not an eye blink of beauty
Even in the mundane and ordinary. So
This view reigns. The twin view accepts
That we are a third rate planet in a second
Rate universe. The cosmos is beyond
Comprehension, therefore our lives are
A blip on a universal screen. All those
Things that produce fear, anxiety and
Dread, are of no consequence in the
Grand scope. Let it go. A century from
Now what will it matter about your
Tentative and temporary life? Feeling
Devalued? The value is in the relief that
Nothing matters…not even matter, for it
Too will cease. So, my life matters, and
Not at all. Can two things be true at once,
Which are opposites? Hold the two. When
Anxiety and dread dominate, go to the
Second view. When the second view leaves
You sad and lonely, crawl toward the first.
When the first makes you anxious and dreadful
Run toward the second. Or hold the two until
They are one.
Paradox, integrated, can be healing. Such a non-dual mind can affirm that,”the worst thing that ever happened to me, was the best thing that ever happened to me.” At the center of Christian theology we hold the most healing integrated whole: the Divine Paradox, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human.
How can this be?
Does it matter?
The Very Rev. J.Pittman McGehee, D.D. is the former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston and currently a Diplomate Jungian Analyst in private practice in Austin. He is also adjunct faculty at the Wessendorf Center at the Seminary of the Southwest. He is the author of five books and frequent lecturer in the field of psychology and spirituality.
