Tag Archives: Balance

Balance and Change

It is one of life’s most commonly accepted axioms; everything changes. Why, then, do we spend so much time fighting against it? We are continually evolving in our outer experience and our inner experience as well. It is the challenge of being human that for our lives and the working systems of our bodies to grow and work well, they are faced with a significant problem.  We need to continually be open to new input and maintain an equilibrium of that system.

Let’s look at being human and consider what change means in our outer and inner lives. When you look at how dependent we are on transition, perhaps we will be a little less resistant to it when it enters our lives.  Change is the cycle that allows us to grow into what we are meant to be, and it will enable us to have the entire life experience in a physical sense — ending with the last change to non-existence.

Inner Changes and Balance

Inside of all people, several complex systems are working to keep us functioning at our highest potential level. These systems help us digest our food, circulate our blood, breathe, think, and move, to name a few vital functions.  All of these systems are working to maintain a balance and avoid extremes. This is a constant struggle because as we continually allow new things into a system, a chance that they may harm us or throw that system out of balance exists.  But that is the risk we must take in any order.

Not allowing new additions to a system forces that system to die, which is not a good alternative for those who depend on breathing, eating, thinking, having a heart that beats, etc.  So we must ride the delicate balance between maintaining equilibrium and introducing new things into our systems.  The food we eat sustains us, but if it isn’t healthy, it causes our systems to weaken and eventually fall out of balance. Then we need to struggle, either with weight, diabetes, heart problems, or some other out-of-balance challenge.

Outside is a Balance Too

This is a less obvious one because we are continually trying to prove to the world that we are separate from all others, but in the end, we are just going to show that we need balance with other people as well.  We develop close personal relationships, with some just passing friendships and others who are our sworn enemies. But all links are input into our lives, and they cause us to move beyond where we are. If you took all the information out of life, you are working with a dead system.  Just like the food we eat provides energy for our day, the people we spend time with give the power for our experiences.

We struggle to maintain an equilibrium in our lives, but we continually need new people coming into our existence to teach us new things and allow us to grow. They can all be a challenge, but without them, we will stagnate and not experience growth.  But on a less serious note, we will not be able to be the best people we can be, sitting by ourselves and avoiding contact with people.  You have to let others enter your life, have conversations outside your comfort zone, and grow.  Like food in the body or oxygen in the lungs, other people provide the fuel for improvement and growth.  But it is always a balance to maintain the time you need for yourself and the time you need with others.

Life changes constantly threaten balance, but that is the way of things. Nobody can stay the same in life. New ideas are going to come into your life, on the inside and the outside. Our part is to recognize this will happen and do our best to ride the wave and keep our balance. If we should wipe out, then learn the lesson and move forward as best we can.

“Fortunate, indeed, is the man who takes exactly the right measure of himself and holds a just balance between what he can acquire and what he can use.” – Peter Latham.

“Change is inevitable, and the disruption it causes often brings both inconvenience and opportunity.”   —Robert Scoble

“Change is inevitable. Progress is optional.”  —Tony Robbins

 

The Opposite Side of Whole

Law of Polarity- Everything has an opposite, yin and yang. Complimentary opposites are a part of the collective whole. 

When people achieve balance in life, things seem to move smoothly as all parts of their life flow equally. Unfortunately, once you make a balance, life will change, and we will all have to change and keep the scales of our lives, balancing where we can enjoy life. The law of polarity allows us to readjust those scales more easily. Having all of the complementary opposites of experience available makes this possible. Of course, we have to make choices that allow these influences to balance out our lives. It is right for you and me and all the things in nature. Each experience has a reason for existing, mostly to kick things into balance again.

How to Recognize Imbalance Exists

When your life has a balance, it flows along smoothly, and events move effortlessly in your life. Nothing is forced; things happen quickly, making life a joy to experience. This can happen with life in general, relationships, and even jobs you work. But slowly, things will change, and adjustments need to be made to maintain balance. Physical, emotional, and spiritual forces in you all need to be paid attention to, and when one area is lacking, the ratio falls off. Sometimes the changes are so slow we don’t notice them, but they are still happening. We don’t want to see the changes when things are going well.

The energy of something not in balance will be chaotic; things will seemingly happen out of the air to try to give life balance. Do we think they are random, but are they really in response to our neglecting our balance? When there are upheavals in your life, this is a sign that balance doesn’t exist. There will also seemingly be no flow in your life, things will feel forced, and it takes a lot of effort to keep things moving where there is ease and simplicity. Finally, it will become apparent there is a problem because physical, spiritual, or mental weaknesses will become evident. Recognizing life is out of balance and taking action to rebalance is wisdom, but it also is essential to understand what it feels like when we are in harmony.

That “In Balance” Feeling

There is a calm feeling that comes when you achieve some balance. Things flow easily as you move from task to task and experience to experience; you find there is no effort for this to happen. You are like a mechanism, doing your part in the world and doing it well. This can happen because your strengths are dominant, and your weaknesses fade into the background. When life moves this way, we seem to be right where we should be, doing the things that make us happy. It is difficult to admit when these things get out of balance because we don’t want to change. But growth is a part of life, and change and growth are inevitable, and the way we are moving, we have to be able to adjust to maintain balance. You know how an imbalance and a balanced feel will help you regulate things.

Some Complimentary Opposites

Complimentary opposites exist for a reason, to allow the world to keep a balance. It would be nice sometimes to eliminate harmful things, but without the negative, the very positive lose its meaning. Here are a few of those relationships we deal with daily.

Day and Night

Day and night are some of the most relevant complementary opposite relationships. The sunshine provides heat and vision and allows energy to grow plants. The night offers a chance to rest and recover for all living things and grow plants. If either of these disappeared, then the Earth would cease inhabitable by life as we know it. In the brightest day lies the promise of the night.

Good and Evil

Good and evil are the complementary opposites we see every day. Nobody considers evil as a positive, but is it necessary? Would good have any meaning if there wasn’t something polar opposite to compare it? Evil exists, and all people are capable of great excellent and high crime within them. It is the balance that brings a meaningful life. The complementary relationship exists whether we like it or not. How could we choose well if darkness were not also there as a choice? The contrast provides a positive value and allows for balance in life. Even with the evilest act, the promise of the highest good exists.

Happiness and Sadness

Happiness and sadness are two complementary opposites. Being a human brings a lot of emotional baggage with it. It is crucial to express joy and sorrow and all levels in between. Loss and gain are a part of the growth process, and it would be impossible to achieve balance if there were no mechanism in our emotional makeup to express sadness or grief. We would not have the ability to be empathetic. And as everyone knows, sometimes you need to feel sad to get the sadness out of your system and get back to balance. Even at the most tragic moment, the seeds of our greatest happiness are sown.

The polarity of life allows for a balance to be sought and achieved for people in their lives. We must remember that experiences and time continually change the scales, and we will never find a permanent balance. It will constantly change, and we must make choices that recalculate our social, mental, spiritual, and physical balance. These options teach you about keeping an even keel, not getting too high with the victories or too low with the losses. In every failure lies the opportunity for success.

“When we’re identified with Awareness, we’re no longer living in a world of polarities. Everything is present at the same time.- Ram Dass

“Differences must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic.”- Audre Lorde

“Everything has a polar opposite. In recognizing this in all relationships, we see ourselves.”

 

Your Yin and Yang

The concept of yin and yang originated in ancient Chinese philosophy and is central to traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, and many other aspects of Chinese culture. It represents the idea that everything in the universe is interconnected and that seemingly opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary and interdependent.

Different Isn’t A Bad Thing

In this philosophy, yin and yang are two opposing but complementary forces or qualities present in all things and all aspects of life. Yin is associated with qualities such as femininity, darkness, and stillness, while yang is associated with masculinity, light, and movement.

Balance Is The Thing

The idea is that yin and yang constantly interact and influence each other and that a balance of the two is necessary for harmonious existence. For example, too much yin can lead to passiveness and stagnation, while too much yang can result in overactivity and destruction. The goal is to find a balance between the two in all aspects of life to achieve health, happiness, and harmony.

In conclusion, the concept of yin and yang represents a holistic view of life that recognizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things and the importance of balance and harmony in all aspects of life.

Yin Yang are two halves that, together, represent a whole.

When you divide something into Yin and Yang, it upsets the balance and equilibrium of wholeness. That is why it is believed that both halves chase one another to seek a new balance.