image by Joe Shillington via Unsplash
I found myself embroiled in yet another dialogue with sexuality dogma recently.
🤦🏽♂️
Seriously though.... I find it's not so much the content of what these tools argue, moreso that they actually believe that their way is The Right Way.
This is what plays out in the current marriage equality debate too.
And the "gender war".
And the war against Muslims, and anyone that basically isn't white-Anglo.
And politics.
And...... etcetera etcetera ad infinitum
"But Pete," I hear you say, "you bang on about Taoism all the time. Isn't that taking a side?"
No. What I'm drawn to Yin-yang theory and philosophical Taoism for is the inherent pluralism in the idea.
It presupposes the unique nature of EACH AND EVERY INDIVIDUAL. And, that this is normal and natural.
Just let that sink in for the moment.
Not only is every individual unique (and that can extend out to all species of life too), but so too will be their experiences, background, thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
Again, just let that sink in.
And it presupposes that 'harmony' comes from allowing each and every individual to able to express and live their uniqueness.
For me, holding to these relativistic and pluralistic ideas is the antidote to dogma, and homogeneity, and hegemony.
Just like i can observe patterns in nature, I can also recognise patterns in groups of people, or in an individual.
But because the universe (in a physics sense, not in a rainbow-pooping unicorn new-age sense) is constantly in flux, that individual may change within the pattern, becoming an exception to the rule.
In the Taoist paradigm, there is no need to concern oneself with Truth (that is, the absolute, static, unchanging truth)..... for in many ways it doesn't actually exist.
I feel OK with uncertainty. And sometimes I don't.
Others struggle with this level of uncertainty. And that's also OK, and valid for them. And maybe sometimes that too will change, in different times, places, and contexts.
Even in saying this, I recognise that what I'm saying is inherently untrue.... that maybe there is a context where plurality and relativity doesn't exist, that there is a static unchanging Truth.
And I'm OK with that too.
Because that's the nature of the Tao.
Some may say, "that's idealistic and unrealistic!"
I say, "what are you afraid to move and think that way for?"
For me, it's not just an idea — it's an application of how I move and engage in the world. My Qi Gong & Tai Chi practice has helped in this way.
Like water, it's hard to grasp: once you think you have it, it slips through your fingers.
😊🙏🏽☯️
Thanks for reading. I invite you to upvote, comment, resteem, and follow
