Change how we think to find better solutions
I am becoming fascinated by the two concepts of negative capability and contradictory truths. The way I am going to write about them here may be a bit off from the actual concept. But that is OK (for me, at least).
Negative capability (NC) is the idea that there is no one absolute truth. Those who can exhibit (embrace?) NC are more comfortable with this mystery. In other words, it requires being comfortable with not finding the one true answer.
This also means that we cannot ever fully know or understand anything or any thing for that matter. We have our interpretations of things. Our respective perspectives. And those interpretations and perspectives can change as we learn or experience more. It is iterative and evolutionary. It allows us to continually question and challenge existing assumptions, to innovate, to explore alternatives and to more effectively deal with a complex world.
(To research NC further for various interpretations of the concept, start with this Wikipedia entry.)
Contradicting truths are those that are absolutely true and in direct contradiction with each other. One example is the fact that we are simultaneously being and becoming. In other words, we are who we are at this moment while at the same time becoming who we will be. We are changing at the precise moment when we “are.”
Another example is this notion that we are all separate individuals yet still connected. Bruce Tift writes in his book Already Free, “…[O]ur experiences of ‘separate’ and ‘connected’ have no independent existence; they are heads and tails of the same coin. We can’t be connected unless we are separate to begin with. We can’t be separate unless we are first connected.”
He goes further to explain, “A Buddhist summary of this view is ‘not two, not one,’ meaning that it’s not entirely accurate to say everything is separate, but it’s also not entirely accurate to say that we’re all one.”
What we do, the choices we make affect us and those around us. We can make decisions because we are our own “selves.” But those decisions will impact others in some way, even if that is not the intent. Separate yet connected.
When we allow these two concepts to work together, we can change how we think to find better solutions. We can change our interpretations, our perspectives and our ability to devise better ways to do things that may already work well. We are able to challenge the underlying assumptions we make.
Making this change to our thinking takes courage to face and accept the unknown and the unknowable. To take comfort in it. To not only relish in ambiguity but in inherent contradictions. To open ourselves to being very wrong while pursuing the path of right. To express vulnerabilities and accept criticism.
To be more than we ever thought we were capable of being.