You Contain Multitudes

“I contain multitudes. And all of those multitudes have opinions.”

When this quote landed in my inbox from the weekly musings of Tonic’s founder, Jen Olmsted, my first reaction was an audible chortle.

We absolutely do contain multitudes. This isn’t news to you. As one of my inner circle, you know that embracing the multitudes of your unbound, wildly powerful humanity is totally my thing.

And, what isn’t talked about enough is how many apparently paradoxical opinions these very same multitudes hold. Often loudly. And all at once.

Which is what makes this quote both hilarious and true.

To be, or not to be. Loves me, loves me not. The age-old conundrum of should I get bangs, grow long mermaid hair, or cut it all off into a chic bob?

All of these are familiar tensions that live in us for a reason. Your multitudes care not for what is simple, linear, and easy. Their many opinions — conscious or unconscious — are the fuel that moves you through the world.

Because opinions (and the friction of paradox) are expressions of your ALIVENESS. And your aliveness is a powerful creative force.

When you become an intrepid explorer of the paradox you hold within, without restraint or judgement (a.k.a. f*ck around, and find out) you’re rewarded with the gift of knowing yourself more fully.

The ultimate dopamine hit.

Or as Jedi Master Carl Jung put it…

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”

Becoming who you truly are isn’t positioned by old Carl as a privilege for nothing. It requires honing the skill of expansive nuance—allowing multiple truths to coexist at once, without labeling one as better or more right.

Easier said than done, of course. We’re wired to seek certainty, and our lizard brain loves clutching the familiar safety of a “single, irrefutable truth.”

But when you stop forcing your multitudes to fit into a tidy little box, the genius of who you truly are begins to unfold.

Learning to hold your inner paradox — without rushing to corral it into a tidy, agreeable queue — makes space for more of who you really are to surface. And that changes everything, personally and professionally.

So tell me, what are some of the weird and wonderful opinions your multitudes have been debating lately? Have you been contemplating it-girl curtain bangs, or a freshly chopped bob?

I’ll go first: About once a decade, I feel an inner, unhinged wonder that thinks; “maybe I can pull off bangs?” My stable, practical self, who gets sensory overload at the mere idea of hair tickling my face 24/7, ON PURPOSE, strongly disagrees. Thankfully before I can call the salon, my 6 year-old self reminds me that we’ve already tried that. She thinks we pulled it off, as only a fresh-faced child of the 80s could, but I am nevertheless reassured that it’s not a look I want to revisit at present. And so the bang quandary retreats, and I am left feeling clearer on who I truly am today. Not a fringe person.

Multitudes in action,

xo Monica

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