A strange paradox

That most people never notice

Everything is a mess, but all is well.

A strange paradox for sure. But one that deserves some further investigation.

Anthony de Mello first brought this to my attention in his wonderful book Awareness.

It instantly transformed me from a pessimist to an optimist.

Let’s see if it does the same for you.

I’m naturally a glass-half-empty-kind-of-guy, so I had zero trouble accepting the first part. It seems like now, more than ever, everything is a mess.

Just take a look around…

The talking heads from your favorite three-letter-news-network remind us how messy everything is 24/7.

Inflation is still soaring, teen suicide rates are at record highs, artificial intelligence threatens to eliminate millions of jobs, and for good measure we seem to be teetering on the brink of a nuclear apocalypse.

And on a personal note, my messy diet has forced me to replace my entire wardrobe, my friendships grow ever more distant with each passing year, I feel stuck in a dead end job, and for good measure my dog is having abnormally frequent intestinal evacuations all over my new rug.

All (quite literally) signs of a very messy state of affairs.

But that’s only half the truth…

Is there a chance that, despite these examples, all is well?

Of course.

It just takes a little mental willpower to acknowledge.

Life expectancy is higher than its ever been, fewer people live in abject poverty than ever before, the little black boxes in our pockets give us instant access to the wisdom of the ages, and for good measure many of us can have dinner delivered to our doorstep with a few clicks (all without ever having to talk to a single human, thank God).

And no matter how easy it is to dwell on the messiness in our personal lives, we’re alive, which is pretty damn cool.

I know it’s trite to say this, but there has never been a better time to be alive.

Don’t want to believe that?

I didn’t either.

But ask yourself, “Would I switch places with some admirable Roman emperor, say Marcus Aurelius? Or some clean shaven business magnate, say Cornelius Vanderbilt? Or some founding father with bad teeth, say George Washington?”

Hell no.

None of them had access to any of the simple pleasures we take for granted that would’ve literally blown their minds to pieces.

Hot showers, hot coffee on demand, hot yoga, you name it.

Isn’t it clear how beautiful this strange paradox is once you give it some thought?

Sure, things could always be better. But they could be, and usually were, sooooo much worse in the past.

If you’re a pessimist, like yours truly, who gets a sick sort of satisfaction from pointing out the overlooked miseries of modern existence, and are in need of a healthy dose of optimism, remember — everything is a mess, but all is well.

Always has been, always will be.

Until it’s not.

But that’s for another day.

Your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.