The Power of Two
It's easy to fall in love with the Power of Two. It lives in all of us, by our very nature. Two eyes, two feet. Two breasts, two hands. Two thumbs, arms, legs, knees. Two each of our toes. Barring the unusual, this is what greets us in our mirrors, our own eyes, in the people we wander past, oblivious. Those we shun, and those that hold us enthralled. Twins hold such seemingly mystical appeal. The Power of Two is in our very nature, as expressed in our unique and ever varied biology. It is all this, and we should rejoice in it, except that this compulsion holds us sway. It limits us, and so we are trapped by ourselves.
In all the lovely and sublime things that the Power of Two brings us, it comes at a terrible cost. Our minds are limited by it. Our behaviors, our opinions, our precious and ephemeral thoughts tainted by it. We look around us and see two options, where there could be more. Two choices, when we could have pieces of many. Right or Wrong, with no thought to a mere difference of opinion, a differing view, or cultural slant. Man and Woman and no other, say some. A modern and high tech culture demands we make simple and expedient choices as quickly as possible, lest we miss something or enter into the once a day minor headlines of traffics tragedies, or missed opportunities. And so it's been since the beasts regularly made feasts upon our flesh. When we only knew that the dark held powerful and brutal death, cold and all alone but for the teeth and claws. So we are as we were. But different.
Many of us are blessed, or cursed, with a life of relative ease. In this mixed bag, we make choices and live our lives for as long as we can. And in this I believe we should look between the Twos. Look for the Third or fourth. Find by looking, seeking, trying in every moment to not just jump at the easiest or two, but to actually think on the possibility of more than just what sits on the surface. Is there another way to move through this conversation, is there some other way I could be traveling to work? Take these choices, or not. But the key is in the option, the key is in the thought of it. Less seems so limiting and so safe.
I say do yourself a favor. Think on it. Watch and learn from your actions. Do you consider that muffin un-palatable because you've put it to your mouth? Do you consider that skin tone scary because of the easy and un-thoughful opinions of others? Do you fear because you can see no other path? Should we walk about, struggling to find connections and meaning in the lives around us, all the while trying to limit our choices by reflex and instinct? Do you feel trapped?
This is The Power of Two.
It's easy to fall in love with the Power of Two. It lives in all of us, by our very nature. Two eyes, two feet. Two breasts, two hands. Two thumbs, arms, legs, knees. Two each of our toes. Barring the unusual, this is what greets us in our mirrors, our own eyes, in the people we wander past, oblivious. Those we shun, and those that hold us enthralled. Twins hold such seemingly mystical appeal. The Power of Two is in our very nature, as expressed in our unique and ever varied biology. It is all this, and we should rejoice in it, except that this compulsion holds us sway. It limits us, and so we are trapped by ourselves.
In all the lovely and sublime things that the Power of Two brings us, it comes at a terrible cost. Our minds are limited by it. Our behaviors, our opinions, our precious and ephemeral thoughts tainted by it. We look around us and see two options, where there could be more. Two choices, when we could have pieces of many. Right or Wrong, with no thought to a mere difference of opinion, a differing view, or cultural slant. Man and Woman and no other, say some. A modern and high tech culture demands we make simple and expedient choices as quickly as possible, lest we miss something or enter into the once a day minor headlines of traffics tragedies, or missed opportunities. And so it's been since the beasts regularly made feasts upon our flesh. When we only knew that the dark held powerful and brutal death, cold and all alone but for the teeth and claws. So we are as we were. But different.
Many of us are blessed, or cursed, with a life of relative ease. In this mixed bag, we make choices and live our lives for as long as we can. And in this I believe we should look between the Twos. Look for the Third or fourth. Find by looking, seeking, trying in every moment to not just jump at the easiest or two, but to actually think on the possibility of more than just what sits on the surface. Is there another way to move through this conversation, is there some other way I could be traveling to work? Take these choices, or not. But the key is in the option, the key is in the thought of it. Less seems so limiting and so safe.
I say do yourself a favor. Think on it. Watch and learn from your actions. Do you consider that muffin un-palatable because you've put it to your mouth? Do you consider that skin tone scary because of the easy and un-thoughful opinions of others? Do you fear because you can see no other path? Should we walk about, struggling to find connections and meaning in the lives around us, all the while trying to limit our choices by reflex and instinct? Do you feel trapped?
This is The Power of Two.