John Sage, founder of Pura Vida coffee, gave a talk entitled "How do you take your coffee?" wherein he describes his philosophy behind creating a company that is motivated by both profit and philanthropy.
Martin Luther King based a sermon entitled "The strength to love" on Math 10:16 where Jesus sends out his disciples "without a tunic" and instructs them to "Be as shrewd as serpents, and as gentle as doves." Highlighting the inherent contraction in such a statement King said,
The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites. The idealists are usually not realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic. Seldom are the humble self-assertive, or the self-assertive humble. But life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites living together in fruitful harmony.
Isn't that the truth! As much as we strive to understand and differentiate the contradictions of life, we can't. Instead understanding comes through holding seeming opposites in creative tension.
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