Friday, August 26, 2011

The Yin and Yang of Life

The folksinger Arlo Guthrie once said, “You can’t really appreciate a light unless you have a dark place to put it in.” Life is all about balance. It’s yin and yang. Tonight my wife and I went to the grocery store because our pantry is empty. We needed to fill it back up. When the garbage can is full I need to empty it. When my gas tank is empty, I need to fill it. A good meal satisfies my hunger but I will get hungry again. Vacations are great because I am still working. If I ever retire I will probably be looking for something to do because being on vacation everyday might get boring. Balance seems to be found in the tension of opposites. I recently saw a news segment on television about how so many people are complaining about the summer heat. The reporter then flashed back to last winter and showed all the people complaining about the cold. It turns out there’s only about a ten degree range in temperature where people are comfortable. It’s a narrow range where it’s not really hot but not cold either. It seems that we can only be happy and balanced when we live in that tension of opposites. We sleep well in darkness but it’s nice to have that lamp on the nightstand. Don’t wait until the pantry is bare before going to the grocery. Don’t wait until your low fuel light comes on before filling the tank. You get the point…

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