Newton’s third law states that the mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In a mode of matter in a state of rest, there are an equal number of positive forces attracting negative forces – opposites attract. Years before him however, Plato had a conflicting set of laws of affinity postulating that “like attracts like”. In a state of equilibrium, both arguments may very well hold true but everything has found its place, all is in balance.
So too in the states of human emotion, balance may be sought by opposites cancelling each other out, positive forces binding together and negating disharmonious influence. If the solution is so scientifically simple, so earthly sound, why have we failed to fine-tune equilibrium as yet? Probably because we have failed to identify the true binary opposites and positive versus negative conflicts – faith vs disbelief; love vs hate; order vs chaos.
The opposite of faith is disbelief? No disbelief is a belief in its own. It is a conviction, it is thought, and it is concretely arguable against that which is believed. No, the opposite of faith is doubt. Doubt has no platform on which it stands; it floats airily without direction or purpose far less tangibly than the ebbing and waning of flowing water. It cannot be captured, it cannot be comforting, nor can it be questioned for it holds no answers. Doubt, serves to put into disarray any tenured state of belief.
And what of love? And what of hate? Can these two emotions so equally powerful, so equally capable of rousing such heightened states of emotion, cancel each other out? It is said, that there cannot be hate without love. To be aroused to such a state of emotion above detestation, above loathing and abomination, there must be an element of love, even if it is wounded, scarred or broken. If hate does not conquer love, then what is its binary opposite? Indifference perhaps, or apathy. Fair possibilities the both of them, but apathy has a state of emotion to it be it even the ATTEMPT not to feel. The opposite of love is fear. When we fear, we go numb. It is not a creeping up of icicles against our skin that blocks out the warmth of emotion, fear negates entirely any sensation, to feel nothing is its power. There is an expression of almost being able to smell fear, people talk of the taste of fear, but in actuality what they mean is they smell nothing, taste nothing, they are indeed numb. So too could it be said that if fear blocks out love it could block out hate, well yes it blocks out all emotion, but love is rightly regarded as that most heightened state of emotional existence, and fear can conquer this.
When I think of order I immediately envision military lines, geometric blocks, harsh shapes, corners. Interesting about these visions of order is that whilst there is control, the control is not necessarily your own. Yes it is possible to be pulling rank yourself, drawing those severe lines by your own hand, but chaos is movement, haphazard, uncontrolled but not still. Can one really justify halting that which displeases and unnerves you, by stopping motion? Of course not, because it is a transient solution as the beat will play again, nothing is meant to remain still. So to seek a solution to chaos we need to search for a motion that is beautiful, graceful and effortless to continue. Whilst chaos is a continuous, crazy, energy-expendable action, there is such a state of motion that is harmonious yet not boring - bearing its own syncopations and rhythmic turns - an existence of constantly moving, like chaos, to no defined goal….called peace.
And so it is that perhaps our goals are flawed, our direction mystified. For to seek faith as oppose to disbelief (believing in one thing is always disbelieving another), fighting hate to stop it ‘conquering’ love, and attempting to militarise our lives, targeting motion to battle chaos, it does seem that we are a little lost. No matter how hard we persevere in this way, no forces will be kept in check, and we will only be deluded further by moments of orderly disarray.
