“The ancients envisioned their world in two halves – masculine and feminine. Their gods and goddesses worked to keep a balance of power – yin and yang. When male and female were balanced, there was harmony in the world. When they were unbalanced there was chaos.” – Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code)
Life is all about balance. Our universe is designed to maintain this balance even at its most fundamental building block – the atom. Just think about it. The atom strives towards balancing positive (proton) and negative (electron) charges. If the atom is unable to achieve this feat within its own structure, it’ll work with other atoms to form clusters and molecules. While it may seem serendipitous, the placement of plants and species is also part of Mother Nature’s grand plan for maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
Humans must also comply and do their best to live a balanced life. Remember, nature’s method for informing you that you’re out-of-sync and imbalanced is through stress, illnesses, fatigue, etc. With this in mind, I encourage everyone to seek harmony and balance within their own lives. To do so effectively, requires a general understanding of “yin & yang.”
What Is Yin & Yang?
Yin & Yang consist of two complementary principles of Chinese philosophy where “Yin” represents the feminine, dark, and negative and “Yang” represents the masculine, bright, and positive. Through this philosophy, everything is seen in pairs where one compliments the other in perfect harmony.
In essence, yin & yang is everywhere and everything. Not only are they opposite in nature but also reliant upon each other to the point where one wouldn’t exist without the other. E xamples also include the sun and moon; cold and hot; passive and active; day and night; inward and outward; soft and hard; up and down; healthy and unhealthy.
How Can This Help Me?
As mentioned, failure to lead a balanced life could be detrimental. It could cause stress and illnesses, along with negatively impacting your focus, attitude, emotions, and relationships. Therefore, it’s vital that people strive towards a state-of-equilibrium where all aspects of their lives are balanced as much as possible. By using the yin & yang philosophy, individuals could re-balance their lives by either giving what was received in excess or by receiving what was given in excess.
To illustrate, let’s say you’re an individual who enjoys giving compliments to others. Unfortunately, when you receive compliments from others you have a hard time acknowledging and accepting them. In an effort to lead a balanced life, you must learn to not only give love but also receive love from others.
Another prime example could be seen with philanthropy. Regardless if we’re speaking of celebrities or entrepreneurs, individuals involved with philanthropic activities are aware that the excess that was given to them should be paid out to others. Through volunteer work and other charitable donations, these individuals strive to create a balanced life by giving a portion of the wealth that they’re blessed with to help others less fortunate.
Of course, other methods exist for creating a balanced life and the solution really depends on your personal situation. As a general rule, people could enjoy a more balanced lifestyle by doing these 5 things daily:
- Meditate – Dedicate 15 minutes each day to reflect on past experiences and use those lessons-learned to improve for the future.
- Nature – Allocate about 30 minutes each day to walk and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature with all your senses.
- Water – This is the essence of life, so make sure that you drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses worth per day to remove toxins and to hydrate.
- Food – Make sure that you have a nutritious diet that also includes the consumption of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables.
- Exercise – Whether through Tai-Chi or Yoga, people could learn to balance their mind, body, and spirit by exercising.
To end this post, I leave you with a quote from Ellen DeGeneres…”My point is, life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada.”