Yin and Yang
This piece is adapted from a letter I wrote last year in support of an organization I am involved with that provides opportunities to underprivileged children. In light of the uncertain times we are all in, a reminder of the forces of the Yin and Yang seems poignant and worthy of reflection.
Yin and Yang. Many of us are intimately familiar with the symbol of this ancient, Chinese philosophical principle of Taoism. The juxtaposition of light and dark, good and evil, masculine and feminine - the black and white tear drops swirling opposite of each other - with a small circle of each in the other’s orb - depicting that seemingly opposite forces are actually complementary and interconnected. Yin and Yang represent the constant search for balance that is at the center of all existence. Well known author and professor of Psychology, Jordan Peterson, likes to view this symbol as the bond between “Order and Chaos” or “the Known and the Unknown.” And indeed, in all of these interpretations, one side cannot exist without the other.
Our culture has evolved to value and thrive on order. As humans, we like predictability and the satisfaction of knowing what to expect and then having that expectation fulfilled. Governments and laws all exist because of our desire for order. We value order so much that we are caught off guard when it is interrupted, but we need to remind ourselves that the small circle of chaos is always lurking in the background - waiting to disrupt the structure and routine we have created.
The opposite also exists. There are many lives where chaos reigns - where there is no promise of the next meal or a safe place to sleep at night or the embrace of a loved one. Despite government laws and programs these lives still lack anything predictable - and so their expectations and hope diminish. Yet - as with chaos lurking to disrupt order, there is also order waiting to present itself within the unpredictable life.
Taoism says that “The Way” is that thin line that divides the two forces – that we should strive to walk that narrow tightrope that is the balance between the two. But because we crave predictability, most of us allow ourselves to nestle comfortably within the orb of Order – hoping to permanently avoid the discomfort and unsettled nature of chaos – and indeed, we get out of practice of how to react and behave when chaos actually does rear its ugly face.
The world has certainly fallen head first into chaos this past week. Whatever sense of order and predictability we had has officially “left the building.” We are all baffled at the swarm of misinformation, the panic-buying in stores, the volatile swings of the financial markets, the bizarre decision-making of governments, the contradicting stories of victims – and all of this at the hands of an invisible force, weaving, moving, spreading amongst us. There are no bombs being dropped. There are no terrorists flying planes into buildings, or armies invading distant nations. Yet we find ourselves retreating, being told to “hunker down” and distance ourselves from each other while the streets and stadiums and commerce of our normally gregarious, extrovertedly dominated and boisterous society are quieting – much to the incredulity of many of us.
But what if this virus, this chaos, was actually the gift the world has been needing and craving? What if this chaos is actually the path to rediscovering our individual selves – a gift that can bring new inner calm and perspective?
When was the last time you ever allowed yourself to take two weeks to just be alone? I remember when I was a young mother of three rambunctious toddlers that ALL I wished for was to have my house to myself and time to focus on my own personal goals. Sometimes my wish would come true for a few hours and more rarely, a whole day or a whole weekend – but I was always left craving more of that precious alone time. But two whole weeks? Maybe even three? In our busy, tech-driven lives, that gift of personal time always seems to elude us.
Until now.
We have fallen into a frothing sea of uncertainty – but bobbing on these surging waves is that little buoy of order – the gift of time being offered for us to reflect, to read books we have been meaning to read, to take a daily, re-generative nap, to go outside and listen to the sounds of the wind through the trees or the pitter-pat of raindrops or to turn your face up to the sun and feel its warmth filling your soul. Time to write letters or emails to loved ones with whom we have been out of touch, or to make that complicated recipe for a lovely meal that you will relish. Time to soak in a hot bath, write a poem, watch the birds at your feeders, learn the constellations in your night sky or take a walk around your neighborhood and smile broadly at the others doing the same.
Grab onto that little buoy of order in this chaotic turmoil we are in right now, and allow this gift of time to slowly guide you back to that thin tightrope of balance that will once again, get you on your way.
Together, with the bonding forces of both the Yin and the Yang, we can all surge forward…
Onward and Upward.
Guard The Sacred. Expose The Absurd. Think Deeply. Celebrate The Moment. Celebrate The Possibility. Celebrate The Individual.
- EWE BEE U
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