Paradox

Paradox is all around me.
I've met a gentleman who recently embraced vegetarianism by choice. He reflects great deal of passion when he tries to convince his audience of his new food philosophy. Of course he only prefers leather shoes with his black suit.  Faux material is out of question, for he is a 'man of good taste'.
I've known an angelic face once enchanted by the cuteness of a rabbit, who later paid a fortune to don fur on her wedding
I've seen a naive damsel proudly wrapped up in dazzling shades of fine silk, oblivious of the horror that a million worms go through to adorn her.
I know a compassionate priest. He'd give his life away for a piece of bacon but refuses to even imagine the life and agony of the animal he consumes.

Paradox is within you and me.

For once can we try to look at things in their entirety please? I'll leave the painful examples to you for later. Let's just take our regular potato fries. What can we see? The skill of the chef. Intent of the helper. Effort of the vegetable vendor. Intent of the potato distributor. Hope of the farmer. Fertility of the soil. Magic of the monsoon. And contributors to making of the salt, oil and vessels? If we put it in words, this is an endless observation. But in silence we can just look at the object and perceive its truth.

And the truth is there were so many hands that intended well and worked hard to have these fries to us.

Would expanding our perception towards everything and everyone we encounter help us get any closer to the ultimate truth?

The blind chase

This is what I see in the world around me. All our lives we are expected to chase the pinnacle for the best possible view, turning our backs to beauty that surrounds us all the while.

Most people keep going. Hallucinated with what's coming next, they never question this race. They just keep going. Sometimes gasping for oxygen. Sometimes carrying more weight on their shoulders than they would have been comfortable with. Feeling gratitude for not being at the lowest point of the rock. Seeking joy from the sight of co-travellers well beneath them. Cursing themselves for not being as fast as the ones above. Occasionally they look behind and realize that world is after all a wonderful place. Assuming that the sunrise is so breathtaking because this view is from a height.

In this crowd of climbers, I am a lost being. When did I ever get here? I don't aspire to reach the top. I never built the endurance to continue this obligatory race or pursue a meaningless fancy. But I cannot stop as that would be a burden to those who I am tied to. And I can't let go of everything to gaze forever at the creative genius around me; that would be a suicide.

Surely life as I know it will continue to feel like a blind chase. Unless I transcend to newer dimensions and transform my current perspective fundamentally. Well, that's another fancy!