My point is not to jar your thinking.
My point is to un-jar your thinking.
This two-line poem, with a simple wordplay, addresses a fundamental dichotomy that is present in much of our life that may appear so subtle that it is oftentimes missed. To jar one’s thinking is almost the opposite of un-jarring one’s thinking, yet, they also strike us as being very similar. They both imply a significant movement, even an epiphany. Eliciting such a significant movement in one’s thinking and/or perspective is exactly what I try to achieve with my wordplay and perpetual twists. Still, the act of jarring one’s thinking connotes something more forceful, even violent. While the act of un-jarring one’s thinking is akin to a release or letting go. The act of letting go can easily be mistaken for some inaction or some passivity, when, in fact, it can be a very profound act. Simply reflect on the difference between giving up and letting go. If this is not immediately evident to you, then just wait a few years, life is bound to teach you this.
Jarring one’s thinking is more narrowly focused and implies a more specific intent of where to lead someone. Jarring one’s thinking is more directive. Un-jarring one’s thinking connotes a more nonspecific and open-ended beginning with an indeterminate number of possibilities. This strikes me as an approach more appropriate to the complexities and infinite possibilities of life. There’s no question that I have a particular perspective. I am definitely not shy in trying to jar other people’s thinking into a particular way that I think is better. However, an infinitely better purpose of mine would be to un-jar your thinking, creating a way of thinking that is not bound by my own particular perspective, but transcends it. While I would like to take credit for helping create a launching place for another’s freedom, I truly relish another’s original thinking, un-jarred by my particular mode of thinking, and hopefully reflecting back to me something original that I can add to my experiences. This is infinitely better for myself and the other than having another parrot back my own prepackaged thoughts, even when they are thoughts of genius. In this case the point is probably simply to think outside the jar, because that’s where most everything is; and certainly the most interesting stuff.
A final note, for those really wanting to delve into the meaning of particular words, is on the word “point.” The word “purpose” could have just as well been used in this poem would’ve lost very little of its meaning. However, I chose “point” for a specific reason. A point in a mathematical context is a singularity in space denoted by three coordinates XYZ. In mathematics, a point does not actually exist in two or three dimensions, where humans inhabit — that would require two or three points. In the context of meaning, rather than simply denoting a place in space, a point is the confluence between multiple concepts that most clearly represents those multiple concepts. If unclear when speaking about a multitude of ideas, someone may say “get to the point.” Thus, the word “point” is a conceptual pun that captures both the particularity of jarring one’s thinking and the transcendence of un-jarring one’s thinking. The paradoxes of life seem to reside in this mystical place where both the oneness and the myriad things meet. Conceptual puns are not surprising, are very common, and, in fact, unavoidable, since language is basically symbols representing or referring to something else, i.e., this is that. My point being, that language is inherently metaphorical and will be rife with metaphors. Consequently, the power of the pun is inescapable!
