Duplicity, Revisited.
I think duplicity is one of the most interesting concepts of life. How you can do something, in order to say something else entirely. How ambiguity in conversation can actually be a good thing. Duplicity simply means double-meaning, and in this life - there are many things with more than one meaning.
Let’s dive in.
Have you ever thought about how you can actually increase your output by limiting yourself? I’m not talking about limiting what you’re capable of, but limiting the parameters in which your output falls.
Let’s take creativity, for example. By specializing in a certain medium, you increase your output. Taking it a step further, if you set guidelines for your creativity - then you further refine the output. Look at large companies, they specialize or are known for only one or a handful of products. Imagine a company trying to be known for creating everything. It’s not likely to happen, and companies house hundreds of creative minds.
Now, looking at a more physical concept. Think about going to the gym. By contracting and firing your muscles, you actually cause them to expand in the long run. So it is through that contraction that we find growth. I have found this to be similar in many facets of life.
I like to imagine this concept either like a funnel, or an icing bag. It has to come to a head or a point. Our energy, creative or raw physical, should be getting pushed through a conscious and direct funnel or we run the risk of wasting it.
So, let me ask you, when is the last time you set parameters for yourself? For your creative endeavors? If you’re a photographer, like me, you can head over to this exercise which helps you to funnel your creative energy. By limiting the composition that you’re shooting, you increase your creative output/end product. Give it a try.
Duplicity. It’s not as simple as having two meanings. In my mind, it is the concept of both sides of the spectrum being related to each other. Light cannot exist without dark. You cannot feel the fullness of presence, without running the risk of absence. If you can’t be understanding, you will never be understood.
At times, to shrink is the best way to show just how big you are. To swallow your pride is to overcome any need for that pride. To understand these things is to both empower yourself with knowledge, and to take away the power the world holds over you.
Sit with this well.
A new year to start. A fresh beginning, or simply another step on the path. Will you guide your steps? Will you walk a new way? Embark on a new journey?
The world is your oyster, and it becomes what you make it. So make it beautiful. I’ll be here, taking pictures and writing words. So come back and check in.
Best of luck my friend.
Stay warm,
dc
