For many years, I've seen what I call gentle contradictions in my life. I see them in the lives of others as well. I define gentle contradictions as believing or embracing two or more facts or systems of thought, which upon first glance might appear to be direct contradictions to each other in the truest sense of the word, but if you look a little closer you'll see that they can peacefully co-exist. That's why I use the adjective "gentle."
So what exactly am I talking about?
I am a quiet person who is extremely passionate. I'm idealistic, but see the validity of being pragmatic sometimes. I feel a strong sense of duty toward family while at the same time feeling a strong desire to carve my own niche. I use mostly email for written communication, but I don't find the medium nearly as intimate as letters so I write letters sometimes too. I love moleskine notebooks and I love smart phones/PDA's.
Want some more?
My theology is quite conservative but I'm a staunch supporter of Christian liberties. In fact, I like to read both R.C. Sproul and Anne Lamott. I see value in understanding history, but I haven't spent a lot of time studying it. I'd love to be married, but I'm more content in my singleness than I probably should be for someone who wants to be married. I'm a big guy, but most people would probably consider me to be gentle. On and on it goes.
I think gentle contradictions can be, and often are, beautiful, which in itself seems like a genuine contradiction since most people probably think about contradictions in terms of chaos. I tend to see the gentle tension between the two or more "sides" as the source for the synergy I need to examine and live life more deeply.
What about you? What are your gentle contradictions?
