Curious Contradictions Contest **Winners**

I'm so pleased to announce the winners of last week's Curious Contradictions Contest!

These personal essays were incredibly interesting to read. I gained some new insights while reading and hope you'll take the time to read a few yourself. I think you will also learn things about humanity and perhaps also a bit more about yourself.

(Photo source: Pixabay

First Place

Along those lines, my top award goes to @seesladen. His post on Confidence and Fear, A Contradictory Harmony highlighted an important aspect of the human psyche that is little understood.

Essentially, he reveals in his inner contradiction how confidence can emerge powerfully when in a crisis situation, but be lacking when things are fine. I believe this is because at points in life, things are just so far beyond our ability to control them, that we finally let go. And in that letting go, we allow a greater power to take over. The confidence is from the identification with that greatness instead of identifying with our small selves. But when the mind thinks it can handle things on its own, it does not leave space for a greater wisdom and power to take care of the situation. It tries to solve it by itself even though it knows it doesn't have perfect information or perfect ability. This is where insecurity is given a foothold. Very useful insight for us all, and I'm happy to award him the first place prize of 5 SBD.

Second Place

The next essay that really opened my eyes was the entry from @nomadicsoul on living with the constant contradictions of ADHD. I've always thought of ADHD as the inability to concentrate or sit still. It never occurred to me that it also meant a tendency to throw oneself into new projects with obsessive focus at times. The constant back and forth of intense focus and inability to focus must be quite a contradiction to live with. And since it has a biochemical origin, one that isn't just about "how humans are." We all can have such inconsistencies in our energy and mental state, but for those of us without ADHD we can learn to discipline ourselves to control it. There is no amount of discipline that changes one's biochemistry. All there is to be done is to learn to love and embrace this aspect of oneself, and learn how to work with it so that it's blessings can be fully delivered.

I'm am happy to award her 3 SBD for this excellent exposition of the inherent contradictions of ADHD.

Third Place

This was a very competitive position. The truth is, many people submitted truly fascinating posts for this competition. I greatly enjoyed having this window into the inner workings of people from so many different cultures, as they faced their local situation AND their internal situation. The intersection between the two was particularly fascinating.

But alas, in the end I had to pick the one that offered me the most unique insight into humanity. And that was from @amabibi2018.

There were several people who wrote about introversion and extroversion, all quite interesting. And I must confess to being an introvert myself, though most people think I'm an extrovert. So I really get this particular contradiction. But I still saw something new in the way amabibi2018 explored it within CONTRADICTIONS ARE INTRINSIC IN EACH HUMAN BEING, which I had to have the browser translate from Spanish for me.

Here was a particularly powerful passage:
"I do not want to say that I do not love my mother; I love her very much, like all those close to me. But even if I wanted to express what I feel, embrace them, kiss them, I do not. It is an inner war between love and detachment. It is something very contradictory, very difficult to carry. So much so that even my son tells me that I do not want it, because I do not show it. And although many judge me and accuse me of having a heart of stone, it is not like that. I consider myself a very sensitive person, although I do not show it by my facial expressions and gestures. It is as if I had my heart in a locked cage that wants to go out to give love and something does not let it."

I have read much about the paradoxes of introversion, but never in such a touching and personal way. Yes, it is very hard to so badly want and need love and affection, just like any human, but be unable to bare the amount of social contact needed to get it! Not even the perfect love for one's own mother can overcome the energetic condition of introversion.

I am happy to award her 1 SBD for her essay.

Honorable Mentions

The following essays were all very good in different ways and are worth your giving a read when you have a chance. They will split the remaining 1 SBD award equally.

@nellita66 with THE MOST CONTRADICTORY CONTRADICTION (also translated from Spanish in the browser)
@kellikellikelli with Living in the Or — Taking Right Action in the Face of Contradictory Beliefs
@tressareid with I'm an introvert, yet sometimes I act like an extrovert
@norkamoran with Leave or stay in Venezuela
@pseudojew with Two seemingly contradictory thoughts!

Thanks to everyone who entered! I hope to do another self-exploration contest on a different theme next month.

I am now following all of you (and suggest you also follow each other) and look forward to seeing more of your posts.