Non-dual thinking

I'm starting my day, late morning to be sure, at my local coffee place after staying up late with my roommates. I had to finally show them Red Bull's YouTube production of the first ever person to ski down Mt. Everest (right after climbing it) without supplemental oxygen. So, definitely search up Red Bull Mt. Everest. None of that has anything to do with today's post.

Every time dramatic world news happens—such as the United States removing a dictator from a country amidst wacky circumstances—I am reminded not only that each person on social media is served "takes" on the situation that are in line with their political leanings, but also about the broader problem.

We're losing nuance, and that isn't great. I don't expect myself, nor the average American citizen, nor the average Venezuelan citizen to have an in depth knowledge of what has happened in the past 4 days. I wouldn't come close to considering it unreasonable that most of us aren't aware of all the facts, politics, or economics leading up to Maduro's capture. But in my view, it should be remarkably easy to view a complex situation from lenses other than just the black and white ones. Not this or that. But this and that. It's simple to understand, and yet there are people who find it easier to choose one perspective to argue into oblivion.

"While some things in life truly are either/or—you are either driving the speed limit or you are not; you are either pregnant or you are not—many are both/and." —Brad Stulberg

While a close friend of mine correctly pointed out the existence of engagement-farming bots (which contribute greatly to the spewing of perspectives with no room for debate), there are also real people who have been sucked into these easy to understand narratives by those exact bots. Apparently, the only reasonable stance for the Venezuela situation is that Maduro is a horribly corrupt dictator, and therefore any debate on his capture is pointless because it just means that you hate Trump, can only argue in Ad hominem, and are not willing to accept that someone you don't like did something that is, apparently, incontrovertibly good.

BAD DICTATOR CAPTURED = GOOD! Right?! You'd be silly to argue something different, and it's ridiculous how the left are all Maduro apologists now, who is literally a corrupt dictator, which is why all the Venezuelans are celebrating.

Or, what if — please just hear me out — I told you that it is actually possible to be extremely critical of Maduro, and be able to see the issues surrounding the decisions of the U.S. and its leader? I know.... Hmm, I guess that doesn't make even a little bit of sense. What a shame. BUT if you're delusional like I am, you could even go so far as to offer the extremist stance that not a single leftist has been praising Maduro. Which wouldn't be hard to understand if you embrace the concept of non-dual thinking.

That Stulberg quote from earlier? It's from a book called Master of Change that reminds us about the simple power of this AND that, rather than this OR that. This type of thinking is referred to by philosophers as non-dual. Here's another quote from the same page:

"Non-dual thinking recognizes that the world is complex, that much is nuanced, and that truth is often found in paradox..."

And so, fellow Zoomers, regardless of your opinion on the Venezuela issue or any complex situation you may come across, I urge you to remember that this concept is important yet wickedly underused in many facets of life. Find the counter-arguments. Your stances become more grounded and your worldview expands when you practice steel manning things that you find hard to agree with rather than using straw man thought processes. And for the sake of our generation, leave behind Ad-hominem, because it's cringe and makes you smell bad. See? Some things in life truly are either/or!!

Next week, I'll share some of my favorite books I read last year, and some of my takeaways!

-Hudson