Almost Everything

Paradox

Bestselling author Annie Lamott reminds readers who want neat answers to their questions about life, love and the state of the universe that truth is a paradox. Contradictions rule where you most want order. For example, scientists proved that light is a particle. Then they went and proved that it is a wave. Then, Lamott notes, they insisted it was not only both, but both at the same time. If light is like that, perhaps life is too.

Life, the author says, is the pain you suffer and the joy you breathe. For many, spiritual growth and compassionate humanity stem from the unavoidable disasters that arrive in the forms of death, destruction and desolation. Paradox teaches that misery is not the main well of existence. When life is most wretched, you still have more to live for and learn. Remaining alert and curious will reveal new ways of being.