The Paradox Of Oneness

A few weeks ago I reconnected with a friend who’s one of the most intense people I know. His name is Akshay Nanavati and in November he attempted a 1700 mile quest to become the first person to cross the continent of Antarctica, coast to coast, alone, without the assistance of sled dogs or kites. Unfortunately his adventure ended about a third of the way in, which all things considered was an incredible feat, and when we connected on the phone he was telling me phenomenal details about his experience.

Before starting, Akshay called this journey the Great Soul Crossing knowing that it would be a personally transformative experience. With that in mind, when I was on the phone I asked him something along the lines of, “With all of that time to contemplate life and existence, what’s something that stood out as a life-changing learning?"

Keep the conversation light... y'know?

To that, he started explaining to me the Paradox Of Oneness. Conventionally, we see things in life as a polarity between two ends - Life and death, good and evil, right and wrong, love and hate, happiness or sadness. Opposites are completely different in how we think about them and experience them. 

But that’s the superficial level… The paradox is that there’s a contradiction arguing that opposite ends of the spectrum are just different expressions of the same truth. That our differences in experience does not mean there’s separation between two things, but that there’s a necessary diversity that gives the highs and lows meaning. Life only has meaning because there is death, and love is only significant when compared to hate. We wouldn’t be able to feel to full extent of the emotion if the other didn’t exist. 

Here are a few examples to make it more tangible: You’re afraid to give a speech, but then after you finish it you feel deep pride and joy. Or you suffer for years training to cross Antarctica so that when you get there, you’re overwhelmed with inner peace. 

To put it another way, the Paradox Of Oneness explains how when you’re feeling pain it’s very difficult to feel bliss at the same time. Yet in order to have intense feelings of bliss, it requires past pain and suffering. This suggests that the pain is part of the bliss, and the bliss is part of the pain, even though they create such dramatically different sensations.

This paradox isn’t new to Akshay’s world - It’s something he’d already built his life and mission around, but it took on a deeper meaning during his expedition. His brand Fearvana is the marriage of Fear and Nirvana, encouraging people to do the things they’re most afraid of or think are impossible in order to squeeze more fulfillment out of life.

It was a fascinating conversation and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, and at the very least my sharing it helps you find purpose in everything you’re going through, good and bad, because it’s all contributing to your life experience.