The Duality of Mind — Seeking Balance
It was December 2017 and the world was burning all around.
On one side, the Gen Zs with their blue hair, ironic glasses & scarves, and superfluous degrees were ecstatic.
On the other, the OGs — the later Gen X and the Millennials with their undying love of plaid, latch-key upbringing, and probably-had-too-many-posters-on-their-walls history — were pissed.
Yes, The Last Jedi had just came to theaters.
While one side praised the woke narratives, diversity, and dismantling of the historical stylings of Star Wars, the other side was crimson with rage over the ruining of lore, disrespect to the predecessor films, and the excess of plots.
This type of wild, polarizing absolutism can be neatly applied in a variety of places, not just in the case of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Politics has been becoming more absolute — “If you’re not with us, you’re against us and you’re just plain wrong!” or “You say you’re ‘a little skeptical’ about the climate crisis? You’re a climate denying, obstructionist Conservative, then!”
Ethical disputes are becoming polarized — “You support gay marriage?! You must be a Satan worshiping, untrustworthy, and morally bankrupt swine!” or “You don’t support it? You’re clearly a fascist, redneck, MAGA hat wearing piece of crap!”
Even in things like sports (which, arguably, have always been relatively polarized), many fans have a “Well, so long as the Packers lose, I don’t care who wins” mentality.
Despite talking Star Wars, politics, ethics and sports all within the first 250 words (impressive, I know), we aren’t here to discuss any of those.
I’m also not here to preach things like “togetherness” or Progressivism or Traditionalism.
At the end of the day, our philosophical beliefs shape things such as our tastes in film or who we vote for — not the other way around. An abstract concept such as “togetherness” or “supporting X, Y, or Z’s cause for the greater good” should fall to the individual and opting to or to not want to be in a specific group is relativistically unimportant.
After all, as I frequently remind readers — we’re all buried in a pine box or incinerated into a vase full of our ash in the next 100ish years.
There is risk with being too absolute in our stances and views. And, the opposite is true as well. Being a flimsy plebeian who caves to anyone objecting to any view isn’t good either.
Being a staunch Conservative — anti-gay marriage, pro-nationalism, traditionalistic, and perhaps neutral or hard on immigration — may alienate you or cause you to be fearful of someone who may be foreign (or who you perceive to be foreign). In other words, you may miss out on certain experiences due to closemindedness.
Being a hard Progressive — shut down all fossil fuels, “let the State run everything” populism, equality no matter the cost, and maybe absolute faith in science and technology — may alienate you or cause you to hate traditional things or things you perceive as wrongly hierarchical, making you possibly miss out as well.
Absolutism closes our minds to things — often due to fears or inability to empathize — and can cause us to miss out of many learning and growth opportunities. Instead of choosing to try to at least listen to someone we believe we disagree with (after all, we may not even truly disagree; it may simply be a stubborn dislike of the person, no matter what), possibly learning something from them or their life, we grab our armor, climb onto our hill ready to die, and pop our fingers into our ears, waiting on our turn to speak, instead of tuning in.
It isn’t about conceding defeat or being “right or wrong” at all.
Right or wrong is a matter of perception. Going through life outraged that “so-and-so believes such-and-such and that you are ‘in the right’ on this-or-that subject” isn’t a very fulfilling way to live. Heck, this may even alienate you from a majority of the population.
It’s about two things:
- What we can control
- What we cannot control
As for 1 — we can only control ourselves and our perceptions.
And for 2 — we cannot control the rest of the universe. That means our friends, your pet iguana, the stars in the heavens, Elon Musk, the cashier at the gas station, politicians, or even, as the age old joke goes, “your mom.”
You cannot control anything except for yourself and your perceptions.
While Stalin, Hitler, and Mao may all chuckle and say “Hold my [region appropriate alcoholic beverage]” in regards to controlling others, when we attempt to control with subterfuge, gaslighting, demanding, or even providing facts and data, it nearly always works to the opposite effect.
Imagine — you’re discussing abortion with someone of the opposite view from you. You are annoyed.
“How can someone possibly support this opinion?” you ask yourself, incredulously. Frustratedly, you present them some statistics and data (and maybe even scientific evidence) to support your view, but they laugh at you. Mutually miffed, you both cease the conversation in annoyance.
Both sides are probably now further entrenched in their opinions, and at future points will likely make jabs at one another or further attempt to change the other’s mind, increasing the rift.
Approaching the world with a multiplicity of mind is important.
While I may believe in one thing or an ideology in one mind and may animatedly interact with the world when things align with those beliefs, I still should have another mind that is open and curious and engaging to opposing trains of thought. I may find a counter-belief that is, perhaps, diametrically opposed to me, but I should be able to “switch off” or at least mute the mind associated with me and my views in order to see what can be gleaned from the others.
I don’t have to agree with them, I may even be revolted by them, but it’s important to be exposed to them and to understand them.
Through this muting of our perceptions, we are able to transcend concepts such as “togetherness” and “for greater good” by ensuring, instead, that we have sought to understand other views and systems, but not abandoned our core beliefs, principles, and our individual. While this is just good diplomacy, it’s also good for us and our balance as humans.
Abandoning absolutism for balance is essential, and I discuss this balance in great depth in my coming book on the subject. Balance in perception, understanding of the world, our financial wellness, physical wellness, spirituality and relationships helps us to reach our peaks as human beings.
We don’t need to die on a hill or be a crazed zealot for an ideology or community. We also don’t need to be a wishy-washy, hand wringing, obsequious servant-brain to anyone who scowls at us for liking a different flavor of ice cream.
Through a duality of mind, we can work towards creating happiness as a byproduct of better understanding of the world (and universe) around us.
In closing and as an example, I both greatly enjoyed and was disgusted by The Last Jedi. As a piece of cinematic entertainment, I applauded the outstanding combat sequences, graphics, and striking visuals. However, as a lifelong fan of Star Wars who has enjoyed nearly every film and TV excursion, I was appalled at the lack of regard for the fans and the mythos created by Lucas, the further extension of the already bloated cast, and the unnecessary additions of plots. I still watch the movie on occasion when I decide to view Star Wars as a series, and I still am able to both like and dislike it, simultaneously. The cinematic excellence nor the slaughtering of the mythology detracts from me or my piece of mind or my existence. I enjoy it in one fashion and dislike it in another.
Perception is powerful — nothing is good nor bad unless we make it so.
Strive for balance. Strive for understanding.
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