Oracle of Delphi.
The priestess of the self.
There are funny tricks of the self. The self loves constantly playing tricks on us by way of giving us riddles to either grow or stagnate in zigzags.
When we grow or stagnate in zigzags, we might be at our worst to actually know whether we are growing or stagnating. Yet, we are definitely at our best to know that it is in zigzags that we can truly grow.
Riddles are not meant to deceive us. Riddles are givers of freedom, of choices. When the solutions to problems come by way of multiple answers always evolving in a serendipitous way, it makes us active participant of our destiny, it tells us that we are in charge, that we are the bearers and makers of our reality, the one within and the one without.
Riddles do not stop us from getting binary answers like "yes or no", like "true or false", like "right or wrong." Binary answers drive us to grow. They make us thrive.
Riddles make binary answers sandier, more granular. They self-contain our chances to give an accurate, precise answer that is on the move and simultaneously long lasting.
When we are faced with riddles we know that they will mushroom with countless "noises" on how to solve them.
Initially, we try to reduce such "noises" to their bare minimum. We think in binary ways by processes of elimination ("it is this or that), but in an open field which is non binary ("it might be this and that and that and that", "it might not be this nor that nor that nor that").
This binary non binary approach allows us to solve bottle-neck problems natural to riddles. It creates a "leaning", a "latency" to favour slightly one of the side of any binary opposition rather than a full stance on any of the sides.
The "leaning" can be so subtle and nuanced that it can give the impression that is not a "leaning" at all, but rather a "middling", a "neutral", "centrist" position completely unbiased by the binary opposition.
When we allow this "leaning", this "latency" to keep going unchecked, our "leaning" continues to appear on the surface as a "leaning", while underneath it often embarks on a full take of the side it was "leaning" to.
Sometimes our "leaning" is hidden from us and we are unaware of it. Sometimes we want to hide our "leaning" so that we can appear unbiased.
Some other times we want to make our "leaning" more explicit, specially if our "leaning" has already become very popular and we are, undercover, already siding fully with the position we were initially just "leaning" to.
That's the funny trick of the self. It is possible to find a balance in a "middling" position away from hardliners and extremes, but when we fail to be nuanced about this "middling" we tend to assume that we no longer need nourishment from any side since we have achieved the right "middling."
Our new "leaning", however, is precisely such unquestioned "middling", while our initial "leaning", the one "leaning" to one of the side of the binary opposition still remains unquestioned.
"Leaning" to one of the side of a binary opposition without fully endorsing it creates nuances and subtleties that help understand better and more effectively our choices.
However, keeping such "leaning" without updating it and even not being willing to "lean" to the opposite side, if required, is to make your choice static and absolute, precisely away from your initial intend.
When you side with something with a "leaning" there is an inherent process of losing your grip on the "leaning" not only as a result of widespread acceptance settling in and making us ignore subtleties we stood by long ago, but also as new data and realities continue to challenge us, while our mind naturally tends to settle in what it has already accomplished, failing to keep sharp.
Facing new problems and visiting our own oracle is about remember that the priestess within us will forever speak in riddles.
