A life balance
We have all been through it. The long hard weeks of unrelenting study, sometimes through entire nights, boosted by the false power of caffeine. An endless punishing, soul sapping pace.
And then the feeling at the end of the last exam paper.
The surge of exhilaration, the sharp thrill of release and the dizzy elation of finally savouring freedom after long endless weeks of study at a gruelling pace. That is euphoria that endures. For days, sometimes weeks. And that's the catch. Without the one, the other is out of reach.
Yin and Yang. Life is a balance of extremes.
Without evil, there can be no good.
Without darkness, there can be no light.
Without sickness, there can be no health.
Try it. Think outside the box. Noticed how a sick child, after recovering from an illness, bursts with energy and eats as though to make up for lost time? The next time you are sick, know that at the end of the tunnel is the thrill of being suffused with zest and zing, buoyancy of spirit, with a lithe spring in the step and song in the heart.
And then there are the deadlines at work. Ah, I live in a world of deadlines. The stress, oh the crushing burden and weight of the stress as the final days approach! I feel it in the heavy load weighing down my shoulders, in the tired valves pumping laboriously in my heart, in the fuzzy overload on my brains. Almost like exam time. But oh, the sheer ecstacy after it is finished and done! The soaring feeling of a bird finally released from cruel bondage. Ah, the freeedom to fly once again and frolic with the clouds! You would never know the taste of freedom until you've been encaged.
So try it. Think outside the box. Without stress, there can be no, hehe, skylarking with the larks?
Comments
*Meditating*
Posted by: Life Feel | August 5, 2005 12:50 AM
All, as we know it, is what we understand of it. And that is the interpretation of what we perceive things to be. ie. there is no "truth", only what we think makes sense.
In order for something to "make sense", it must be referred to some unchanging frame of reference. That too, is man-made.
So, we have 3 elements here, all artificial. These are (1) Man trying to make sense of things, (2) The human perception of things around us, and (3) a man-made frame of reference.
Without going any further, it becomes clear that as long as the frame of reference is sufficiently broad to encapsulate all that we can perceive and get it to fit nicely into some logical compartment, we have a nice and comfortable theoritical model that appears to explain that which is around us.
Such a model that has been promulgated, and that you have referred to, is Symmetry. In this model, the definition of the lowest possible elements are as that of pairs - High/Low, Hot/Cold, Yes/No, 0/1, etc. This simplicity has been applied very effectively in high technology. (Computers are all about zero's and one's). Surprisingly, (or maybe not so), is that it is also the essence of the first book ever written (The I-Ching).
Two interesting points to ponder (or meditate) about is that, (1) Given that Symmetry or Ying/Yang is really another human construct, is it really truth ? (2) If it is truth, then all that is, is all that is meant to be, and thereof, good luck and bad fortune are simply human perceptions of things which by themselves, have no meaning.
The point I am trying to make is, nothing is actually "real" (in the absolute sense). Everything is notional because it's only what we perceive in the context of some artificial framework (albeit an apparently very logical and encompassing one).
Taken in another context, even using the same framework, things could be seen as totally different. Eg. Lion in the African Savannah eats Widerbeast. To the lion, that is good as it gets, but to the wilderbeast, things can't get any worse off.
Posted by: Freddie Chong | August 6, 2005 12:59 PM
Absolutely right, Freddie!
Good and bad, happiness and sadness, they are all man's perceptions, notional and relative to an artificial framework.
This articule is an attempt to elucidate the very real gain to be had by the ability to see the larger picture of life.
All too often and too easy, we find ourselves entangled in the knots of life's difficulties. Thing is, without having experienced the strife, we would not know the joy of triumph.
Try drinking a glass of grapefruit juice. Then have a taste of grape juice. How much sweeter it is! We need grapefruit juice so that we know what sweetness means, ya?
Posted by: Tinkerbell | August 6, 2005 02:18 PM
Indeed Tinkerbell. If one cannot grasp the bigger picture, even good fortune may appear less than a blessing.
But such beings of humanity that we are, we live in the life of today, we are engaged in the problems of the moment, and it is hence, often difficult to see past the present. The flip side of the coin is that, if we can truly see reality in its total holistic whole, then there would be nothing much to be happy (or sad) about. I think that's what those gurus up in the mountains do. Certainly not my cup of tea though.
There was a time when I would be very upset over a lost opportunity or other event of misfortune. These days, I know I will (literally) forget all about it in a week's time. Getting old, you know what I mean ? On the other hand, the prospect of moving into that brand new house does not particularly turn me on either. Twenty years ago, my heart would be palpitating with anticipation.
So it's kind of a double edge sword. The more we can see the big picture, the less we worry about the problems of the day, but at the same time, the more tempered our appreciation of the good fortune.
Incidentally, I love grapefruit juice, and don't really care too much for grapes or it's juice. Not that it has anything to do with the topic here.
Does any of this make any sense to you ?
Posted by: Freddie Chong | August 6, 2005 03:40 PM
I do not doubt that when in the midst of pain or stress, it is hard enough to see beyond the end of my nose let alone the larger picture. But when it is all over, the euphoria endures, oh how it endures!
Here's a life example. I am one of those who do not take kindly at all to auntie's monthly visit. I climb the walls leaving a trail of my bloodied scratch marks where my nails had clutched the surface in agony. Ok, some exaggeration does not hurt, ya?
But sheesh, after it is over, the world never looked more beautiful, the air never smelt as sweet, every day is a wondrous joy to be savoured! The upbeat mood endures for days.
Even now, as I am typing this, I am filled with wellbleing. Because I know what hell feels like. Any day that I am not in hell is...., hehehe, whaddaya expect, heaven!!!
About sages, sadhus and holy ascetics, I think the enlightenment and insight that they have achieved leads to a spiritual inner peace that transcends mortal happiness as we know it in contemporary parlance.
In their spartan existence, if they do not experience the volatile highs and lows of ordinary life I think that is more than compensated for by a deep spiritual contentment devoid of unfulfilled earthly desires.
On missed opportunities, if you had missed 10 fantastic opportunities in a row, would not success at the 11th attempt feel all the sweeter? If you had always succeeded with each attempt, would not that make you blase?
No offence, ok, but I think there might be a good chance that brand new house would turn you on if you had once been a homeless vagrant sleeping huddled under a worn blanket on a cold winter night :Þ
You like grapefruit and do not like brand new homes? Er, are you one of those saffron-robed swamis from some ashram in the himalayan foothills? Oh wait, you did mention that was not your cuppa tea :Þ
Posted by: Tinkerbell | August 6, 2005 07:49 PM
Time is the ultimate moderator. After a while, things don't look quite as bad as we thought they were, at the moment. Conversely with the passage of time, what we thought was fantastic does not seem quite all that special after all.
And most of us can't really fathom why anyone would want to evolve spiritually to a point where it makes no difference, whatever state we are in.
I am very glad to hear that you are filled with wellness and experience the exhilaration of life being well lived. Truth be told, that cannot be said about very many people who have much wanting in their lives.
No offence taken on any utterances about my perception of things material and otherwise. And I really should also tell you that I am beginning to view the Jaguar as becoming not too different from the old Ford. After all, they both start in the morning, they both get me from A to B, and they are both just machines.
What's wrong with grapefruits? I thought that come ingredient in some latest health fad.
Posted by: Freddie Chong | August 7, 2005 08:23 PM