You’re not always right, and not everything is bad: The duality of black and white.
*Part 2 in “How to Watch the World Burn and Stay Sane” posted in bite-sized segments each week. Intro here. “Who Are You, Really?” (Pt.1)*
When most people hear the words: black and white, they think of the colours (shades), or they might think of “race.” However, black and white are also concepts to help understand the world around us. Black and white are opposites, just as nighttime is to daytime, dark is to light. How could we know what sadness is, without happiness? That something is hot or cold. Soft or hard? If we only ever had darkness, that would not be the darkness as we know it. How could we see the light?
If we only ever had happiness, how would we know that we were happy? It would be like taking a “happy pill” in a dystopian sci-fi novel or film. We would not be able to experience and enjoy happiness without pain and suffering. Not only is this part of the human condition to grapple with these opposing forces, but it is also this contrast that allows us to understand the world around us. These dualities are inherent in the universe from the atomic level of electrons and protons to life and death itself. How can we experience life without death? Death implies life. Black and white convey these dualities in the Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang: dualities are not only competing but are harmonious in complementing each other.
The yin-yang symbol, as seen in Tai-Chi, consists of a circle divided into two halves by a curved spiral line. One half of the circle is black, which represents the yin side (dark, negative); the other is white, for the yang side (bright, positive). The white dot in the black area and the black dot in the white area show a formation of a whole through coexistence and unity of opposites. The curvature of the division signifies that there are no absolute separations between the two opposites.
In the same fashion, right and wrong are also two components of a duality — heads and tails of the same coin. When you realize the truth of this, you begin to see things as no longer inherently wrong or right. It is crucial not to misconstrue this with the idea of a “grey” area, nor am I advocating for apathy or amorality. A grey area is an “ill-defined situation or field,” which implies uncertainty between two sides in any given circumstance. The black-white duality, on the other hand, means any given circumstance necessitates both sides. Moreover, rather than indifference, I’m advocating to pay close attention to the actions we take, understand the potential consequences and take responsibility for the decisions we make. However, what is important to remember is that what appears as good or bad/right or wrong is never clear-cut. They always stem from a series of innumerable actions and events that project into an uncertain future.
There’s a parable in Chinese, 塞翁失馬 (Sai Weng Shi Ma), about a farmer, Sai Weng, who lost his horse:
He lived on the frontier by the Great Wall and he raised horses for a living. One day, he lost one of his prized horses. After hearing of the misfortune, his neighbours felt sorry for him and came to comfort him. But Sai Weng simply replied, “Maybe losing a horse is a good thing for me.” How could we know it is not a good thing for me?” The neighbours did not understand.
Not long after, the lost horse returned and with another beautiful horse. The neighbour came over again and congratulated Sai Weng on his good fortune. But the farmer simply replied, “This is not necessarily a good thing, maybe it’s something bad.” One day, his son went out for a ride with the new horse. All of a sudden, he was thrown from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbours once again expressed their condolences to Sai Weng, but Sai Weng simply said, “Maybe this will bring good fortune for me.” The neighbours did not understand.
One year later, a war started and the Emperor’s army arrived at the village to recruit all able-bodied men to fight. Because of his crippled leg, Sai Weng’s son could not go off to war and was spared whilst many of the villagers’ sons were killed in battle.
The takeaway from this proverb is that adverse events can turn into positive developments and good fortune can turn into misfortune. If we draw this logic to its extremes, any possible catastrophe or “miraculous breakthrough,” whether human-made or not, is not indicative with 100% certainty that future events will continue down a particular pre-conceived trajectory. In the present moment, it’s all a matter of perspective. That is not to say we can never predict any future events, which is why we have weather forecasts and economic modelling etc. However, we know how unreliable the methodology can be.
What happens in the present and past effects the future. But the magnitude and exact impact are indeterminate due to the complexity of the system, natural and/or artificial. This realization should allow for perspective into our judgement of good or bad, right or wrong. Not everything is as terrible as we may think in the moment. Moreover, how arrogant do we have to be to believe we are always right or that others are always wrong?
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