Contradiction

Life does not expect us to be serious at all times. Its full of fun, frolic and humor. And full of contradictions! Am I contradicting myself?

The fact that there is something called ‘yin and yang’, ‘day and night’ that exists in life, shows that everything in this world exists as a pair of contradictions. These contradictions exist in ourselves in the form of joy and sorrow, success and failure, inspiration and dejection, likes and dislikes, etc., that we experience at times. But we also know that these experiences have a limited existence. They come and go. Which proves that these contradictions are like passing clouds and not to be taken seriously. The best way to achieve this is by treating them lightly and laughing it aloud.

Don’t we use contradictory or incongruous phrases—Oxymoron—in our daily conversation? Look at this passage full of Oxymoron.

It was whole half day party for married bachelors. It’s a new tradition. There was a small crowd. The host was holding a plastic glass in his hands with non-alcoholic beer. He then added alcoholic drinks to it. Soon his glass became fully empty and obviously, he was drunk. It was a pretty ugly sight. He wanted others to join him. One friend said, “Please include me out.” The host insisted, “Do not worry. No one will see. We are alone together.” His friend replied, “Not for once. I’ll never drink beer.” The host continued, “My friend, double negatives are no-no for me. You have to atleast join me for a cold hotdog and a fried icecream. You should also watch a live recording of my singing program. Its terribly good.” In reality he is not a good singer. There is something found missing in his singing. But the way he boasted about himself, he stood as a natural actor. He was a walking contradiction.

Someone is a walking contradiction when he is a hypocrite, to put it mildly. One who preaches but never practices, one who keeps his drawing room immaculate but the kitchen in a mess. In brief, one who talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk.

Recently a friend narrated an incident about a parent who was worried. Her teenage daughter was ceaselessly tuned into loud pop music. Instead of listening to soothing classical music, her room was resonating with Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” and the like. The parent decided to meet the school principal and have a frank discussion to do something to save the children from this cultural attack. Surprisingly the principal agreed and assured the parent that the school would make Classical singing compulsory for all children. The parent was relieved to learn that her daughter and other children like her will be introduced to more soulful and sober music in school. She drove back humming “Black or White”!

The world around us is full of contradictions. But it’s a beautiful place to live in. Lets learn to laugh at these contradictions and live in this beautifully contradictory world with joy and peace. As I already said, these contradictions are only temporary. There is nothing permanent in this world except change!

By the way, do you consider phrases like “honest politician”, “attractive feminist”, “happily married”……… as Oxymoron? :) Do you have any more Oxymoron to share? Please leave your comments here.