QsOTD

Without Contraries is no progression.

-- William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

 

But there is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites;
hence it is necessary to discover the opposite to the attitude of the conscious mind.

 

-- C.G. Jung, The Essential Jung: Selected Writings

 

Blake and Jung are major influences on my thinking and writing.

These quotes in particular drive character creation in my fiction. In stories, I often set up pairs of characters to embody opposites. Character interaction then produces a the tension and the plot holds holds the tension of the opposites until those opposites either result in evolution or dissolution.

Life is a process of negotiating opposites. Night and Day as a pair give a richness to our lives and additional meaning to each experience. Day shines more brightly because of Night which in its turn provides coolness and comfort in contrast to day. If you've lived in a desert climate, nightfall is a welcome event. And in contrast, if you live up north, the return of the sun after a cold dark night is a joyful occasion. 

Examining and engaging in what Jungians call holding the tension of the opposites can yield rich insights in personal psychology and creative work.

If a person--or a society--becomes conscious of opposites and holds the tension, examining them, experiencing the tension, then that person or society can evolve into a greater wholeness and understanding.

But if a person or a society does not examine the opposites consciously, but instead becomes overwhelmed by the emotions stirred up by the tension, then they risk division and falling apart,

Again, it comes down to choice. We have the freedom to make a choice. With that freedom comes responsibility. Live consciously and have a chance to evolve and get somewhere. Live unconsciously and dissolve under the tensions of the unacknowledged and the unexpressed. 

it's always our choice.