The Tao Te Ching reads:
“The Tao gave birth to the One.
The One gave birth to Two.”
Words fail us.
(Really words? You had one job.)
What word could perfectly describe this first split?
Every option seems weighted down—loaded with baggage we didn’t ask for.
Separation? Yes—but underneath, the underlying unity of Tao remains.
(This will not be on the test.)
Contrast? Most definitely—as long as we don’t begin comparing, judging, rating.
(Be sure to use a #2 pencil.)
Divided? Yes—but into parts, not against each other.
(Calculators away now please.)
We use the word distinction for this initial split.
But division has another meaning—
Disunity. Conflict. Discord.
Let’s get something straight.
Duality is not the same as conflict.
And distinction doesn’t mean division.
At the root of all experience—
distinction.
A play of contrast.
A dance of opposites.
Night and day.
Joy and grief.
Self and other.
Each leans into the other.
Each defines the other.
But they were never truly split.
Distinction is the rhythm.
Division is the break.
The problems start when we turn contrast into competition.
When we go from “this and that” to “this vs. that.”
So what changes?
The ego steps in.
It picks a favorite.
Fear joins the party.
(And immediately takes control of the playlist.)
And just like that,
the rhythm becomes rivalry.
Division arises when consciousness stops dancing the dance—
and starts judging the performance.
The human mind makes this mistake constantly.
We confuse distinction—where things are different but related—
for division—where things are torn apart and forced to choose sides.
The yin/yang doesn’t lie
(Unlike your ex.)
If this feels confusing, you’re not alone.
The ancient masters knew how slippery this is—
so they gave us a visual aid.
The yin/yang symbol is so familiar, we forget how radical it is.
Two shapes, swirling together into a whole.
Black and white, not side by side—but folded into each other.
And in the heart of each—
a dot of the other.
A seed of reversal.
The cream in your coffee.
This is distinction, not division.
It says: opposites define each other, support each other, give rise to each other.
But the symbol offers another important reminder:
Nothing is absolute. Nothing is set in stone.
Everything is always in transition—
tending, leaning, morphing—
in constant evolution and motion.
Permanence is an illusion.
So what is the point of digging in your heels—
when there’s nothing to get hung about?
Duality is distinction without division
Think of two dancers:
Different bodies, one rhythm.
One leads, one follows—
all in service of shared motion.
If one tries to dominate,
the dance becomes a fight.
That’s what ego does.
(And then it tries to twerk
as everyone pretends not to notice.)
Now take another look at our symbol.
Do you see a dividing line down the middle?
Or do you see the dance?
Break a magnet in half—
you get two smaller magnets.
(At least that’s what the Science Guy told me.)
Each whole. Each polarized.
You can’t split unity.
(This will, in fact, be on the test.)
This isn’t about erasing difference.
Difference is real—and necessary.
It’s about seeing through the illusion of conflict.
That one pole must win.
That light is better than dark.
That silence must defeat sound.
To see the world as distinction without division
is to return to the deeper field.
You start to notice how easily
the mind turns preference into problem.
How often understanding hardens into judgment.
Duality brings contrast, color, definition—
and the tension that makes life vivid, worth living.
But that same tension, left unchecked,
slips so easily into rivalry.
From the seat of Tao, duality becomes distinction—
a delicate balance of unity, harmony, and tension.
From the seat of ego, duality becomes division—
a story of lack, bias, and separation.
Distinction never changed.
Only your relationship to it did.
So how will you choose to see the world?
What will your experience be?
Will you butt heads or find rhythm?
(This is the part where you nod thoughtfully.)
Will you struggle against the current or will you—
Go with the flow.
(This is the part where you go with the flow.)
Explore more:
Dig deeper into the nuances of duality and discover how it fits into a more comprehensive model of reality.
