Paradox

Over the years I’ve given, and been given, countless bits of advice about how to run, how to train, how to recover, what to eat… etc. etc. Some of the advice is soon forgotten but others really stick. They become mantras in your subconscious. You give them a home and they decide to stay. Here are some of the ones that live with me.

The more you train, the less the pain.

Start slow, finish quick.

Run more slowly, to run faster longer.

The pain in your legs, is only in your head.

I think the reason these particular gems stay in my head is partly because I’ve seen them so often but also because they are so self-contradicting. Our literary friends (I think I’m right in saying) would call these paradox statements. The first part of the statement seems at odds with the second part. Initially, it may seem absurd. However, on closer inspection and with some good old-fashioned thinking, a deeper meaning will emerge. As runners you can probably see the hidden meaning in the paradox statements above quite easily.

Take the first one for instance; we all know that if we train for too long it will only get more and more painful. But we also recognise the wisdom here, that if you keep training regularly, eventually, when it becomes a habit, tasks that were previously painful now seem somewhat easier to perform. The wisdom here is only slightly veiled, waiting to be discovered.

A central part of my enjoyment of running is overcoming obstacles, then raising the bar a little and going again. Pushing myself to the limit, again and again. This, and the sense of achievement is why I love running. Or, to put it in a more elegant way, and I suspect, a more memorable way too, I could use the following paradox.

When I’m running I want to stop, when I stop I want to run.

I have to say, I really do enjoy a good paradox. I could go on ……..and give several more examples but……

Less is more.     

Sorry I couldn’t resist.

Oh dear ….I should have realised ……

Paradox jokes are never funny.

…..Ok…that’s it I’ll stop. I won’t roll out any more paradox statements, besides you can discover them for yourself.

Some verses of the Bible also employ the paradox technique. It would appear that the authors want us to think a little more deeply about what we are reading. These verses may initially seem confusing, only revealing their wisdom to those who take the time to lift the veil and read them in the context of their chapter. Those that do this, will uncover true wisdom that can find a place in their hearts and minds.

Mark 10; 43-44 NIV    Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a slave to all.

Luke 9; 24 NIV   For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Paul neatly described the fundamentals of a Christian life, with the use of paradox in

2 Corinthians 6;10 NIV   Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet possessing everything.

If you have everything in your life but Jesus Christ, then you have nothing.

If you have nothing but Jesus Christ in your life, then you have everything.