Ah, the beauty of life’s contradictions! You know that phrase, ‘ Two things can be true at the same time?’
It’s like the wisdom of a fortune cookie, except it’s actually profound, and not about your upcoming trip to a distant land (which, let’s be real, we all secretly hope will involve a beach).
The phrase is both simple and mind-bending: it acknowledges that life is messy, and you can have conflicting truths coexisting in your brain at once.
Let’s dive into this paradoxical wonderland where the laws of logic have a casual Friday vibe.
Here are a few examples of how two things can be true (while still making you question everything):
I love exercising but…I love my lounge, snacks and Netflix too.
A paradox to be certain. I read about people running marathons, hitting personal bests all over the place and I think… “Yeah! Yeah, that could totally be me!” And then… and then I realise I have been reading about these people for hours and now, it’s a little bit late, a little bit cold and Netflix just dropped a bingeable series so…
Two things can be true:
I love the idea of being fit..
And…I can experience the idea of being fit from the cozy confines of my home.
I love eating pizza, pizza is amazing, but my body hates me for it.
Pizza, the go to meal for many people. Is it the heady mix of the sauces, the cheese and toppings or, is it the warm puffy crunchy crust that gets you in? Perhaps it is the pulling apart part, tearing the crusty edge for the topping loaded centre…whatever it is, it’s pizza. Just one more slice.
Two things can be true:
Pizza is the greatest meal of all time…
And… My metabolism is much slower than it was and I will feel every slice for days. My body hates me for eating it.
I love working with young people in education and yet they drain me, physically and emotionally.
We all got into education for different reasons, although I would posit that very near the top of that list is often a love of working with young people. Young ones, tweens and teens fill our lives with laughs and fun and seeing them learn and grow is one of the best parts of my day.
And, they can be downright exhausting. From the little friend to friend dramas to the bigger, finding it hard to apply themselves to the learning and therefore raging against the machine. I love them and oh how I love to get away from them.
One of the amazing things about being human is our ability to hold two conflicting thoughts in our minds and accept that both can be true. And that’s perfectly fine.
I can want to be fit, yet still crave the comfort of my couch.
I can adore pizza, but regret how I feel afterward.
I can love working in education, show up every day, and still feel exhausted.
The struggle is real, but it’s also part of what makes us human. Both things can coexist. You can love something – like pizza – and still have moments where you dislike it, and that’s totally OK. It’s all about recognising the paradox and accepting that both sides of the equation are valid, real, and completely acceptable.
We teach. We know. Two things can be true. Usually are true.
We hold each with the respect it deserves and continue to get up every day, holding space, recognising the contradiction and loving life all the same.
Check out other articles Cassie has written here.