"Being and non-being produce each other; Difficult and easy complete each other; Long and short contrast each other; High and low distinguish each other; Sound and voice harmonize each other; Front and back follow each other."
(Tao Te Ching, 2)
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Imagine all the things are the same; no opposites, no contraries, just pure similarities. Isn't that monotonous, boring, or dull? Things will then become wearisome and unexciting. Of course, good things are indeed good, I mean who doesn't want good? But without bad, good will never exist. You cannot identify what is good without bad. Thus, things will become neutral without their opposites; which is somehow mind-numbing and uninspiring. It is what we colloquially refer as "non-challenging" (walay challenge), and indeed, one is lucky to escape life than to grasp some of such.
Like for example, in a lover's relationship. Isn't that kind'a dull to have someone who loves you, as in routinely he/she says "I love you" and have never worried you for being mad or something. I know dear, you love me and you mean it, but come on! -didn't you come to a point that you hated me then loved me again, then hated me, then loved me again...? I mean real love, even as suggested by Mr. Scott Peck consists a cycle of falling in and out of love. It's not just merely "falling in" that fabricates a perfect love, but rather in falling in after falling out several times.
Even in the case of Sisyphus, don't you think that if the rock will not fall down from the top of the mountain, he will enjoy and somehow will not try to push the rock to fall in order to somehow put some "colors" in his absurd situation? The thing is, by nature, we prefer to live the absurdity; the contrariness of things than to have a, yes, somehow consistent yet also, tedious life.
That is what Lao Tzu is trying to illustrate to us, which is the harmony between the non-harmonious; the contradicting ideas and matters in the writings above. Yes, they are opposites, but with such opposition; such distinctness to one another, they will be able to manifest an undeniable chemistry that is far more better than to have a single element that will only numb the hell out of one's self and will eventually exterminate the 'life-ness' of life.
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