Ontological Roshambo

When I feel stuck, I play a weird game of rock, paper, scissors:

✊ The Real (rock)

✋ The Ideal (paper)

✌️ The Surreal (scissors)

The goal of the game is to keep them in balance as much as possible. When stuck in one, use the others to get unstuck.

✊ The Real

Am I present with what is? Am I being courageously vulnerable, revealing truth behind the facade? Am I being pragmatic about the state of the world and the constraints it imposes on me?

The Rock of the Real keeps me grounded, stable, authentic, and effective.

✋ The Ideal

Am I striving for something better? Do I believe that today’s ideal can be tomorrow’s real? Am I holding myself and my world to a higher standard? Am I being the change I wish to see in the world?

The Paper of the Ideal helps me sketch the outlines of the future and make plans to get there.

✌️ The Surreal

Am I listening to the weird, unknowable ways of knowing? Am I remembering that the world is too big and complex to ever really know what is real or ideal? Am I laughing at the absurdity of it all?

The Scissors of the Surreal cut me out of the constraints of my thinking.

· · ·

Like all models, this is incomplete, oversimplified, and missing nuance. But what it lacks in fidelity it makes up for in usefulness & memorability.

When stuck, I sense into where I am, then throw a hand sign that matches my internal state. Then I throw the other signs and try to approach things from those perspectives.

Maybe I’m stuck in The Real and things feel immovable. What would be The Ideal situation if I could wave a magic wand? Or what would be The Surreal interpretations of the current situation that would make me look at it completely differently?

I’ve found it useful, and maybe you will too. Let me know if you do.

Illustration: “Master Rock Paper Scissors” by Kelsey Heinrichs