In every facet of my life, whether I realize it or not, there is this equalization that happens. I find myself either consciously or not, leaning towards finding the middle line/middle ground in the path ahead.
It has always been my prime philosophy, that in life you should strive for balance. Now that I have learned about the hum from Buddhism, the following the flow of Taoism, and other similar mindsets.
There is this realization that my mindset is not of my own creation, but that of what I have gathered from those before me.
You know there are a lot of philosophies out there. From religions, mythologies, Western vs Eastern beliefs, and even Western mixed with Eastern. All in all, there is a really common thread I’ve found, balance. A post I’ve had on the back burner for quite some time is this one. Ironically I'm remaking it now years later.
A Look into Various Cultures
Achieving a state of harmony, that is the main goal for MOST of all of the beliefs out there. Don’t believe me? In Buddhism (obvious example but) you are aiming to stay on the Middle Path. To not let the highs or lows of life control you, and to stay in the middle “hum”.
In Christianity it is all about being closer to God, and what does church or prayer do for you? It brings you closer to the “perfection” or holiness. We are “relatively” in comparison “savage”, but by being pious it brings you closer to the Holy Trinity. Which in itself is balance: Mind, Body, Spirit.
In Islam (granted this is not an area I’m super familiar with), but once again about being closer to the holy aspect of divinity. Hence the Halal food restrictions, modest clothing (not just for women, but men as well), loving thy neighbor, etc.
People often think that “loving thy neighbor” is a Judaeo-Christian thing, but ironically it is universal. It is one of the core principles of humanity as a whole, and you want to know why? It is because it brings you and your surrounding fellow humans together, and achieves a more harmonic BALANCE in your near life.
How does Balance Manifest?
Humanity is a direct affront to Entropy. We are the beings of order for this planet, and it is up to us to organize life and civilization.
The more we create, the more we build up cities, and the more we work together. The stronger our universal architecture goes. Some humans are chaotic, and we can't change that, but they're the ones we grow out of as a species. The longer we continue the growth.
In life on a personal level, we must decide what we want to achieve, and maybe that is self-determinate. Maybe it is pre-determined. I'm not sure on that, but I like to think the former.
Following Wu Wei is about letting go, and following the path that the universe has set out for you. Even if it isn’t fate, it IS at least not fighting the current. The flow of time is like a body of water, and when you try to attain the illusion of control; Then it is like trying to paddle upstream, and you are simply staying in the same spot.
When you decide to let go, and go with the Tao, only then are you able to find balance.
One more. In Stoicism having internal harmony is paramount, and most of the great Stoics find a way to share their wisdom in that line of thinking.
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.” -Epictetus
When you let your internal harmony be in control by someone/something that is external.
This is why all of my life, even when I was a young lad, that my main philosophy has been balance. Striking the middle ground between interests lead me to becoming polymathic. Following a middle path in school, allowed me to at least graduate, but I ended up taking education into my own hands successfully.
In everything I do, I strive for balance. Not to overwork one side, or under work the other side. There needs to be progression, but I believe progression can happen even when you are cultivating multiple things at once.
Perhaps even more so, as you tend to compound the progression at a certain point.
Balancing my business side, with my interpersonal, has lead me to be well loved by my customers. They know that they can put their full trust into me because I have what is best for them in mind.
Win-win scenarios in Game Theory only attain the perfect outcome WHEN balance is achieved.
I could go on, but alas I must balance my focus today between tasks. Goodday.
Previous Shorter Version If you want to keep reading:
This was one of my "social articles", an experiment to create medium sized blog posts, akin to newsletters. Across a variety of social blogging networking platforms. Such as Medium, Vocal Media, and Linkedin. Since it didn't quite land; I decided to take these posts and remake them into more full length creations.
Dustin Miller - PolyInnovator
