Monday, November 7, 2016

Balance

Tomorrow, November 8, 2016,  is Election Day.  It is one of the most controversial and troubled elections we've ever had.  Predictions of doom emanate from each camp.  Inquiries from US citizens regarding immigration to Canada have dramatically increased.  But, the human race and the USA have suffered through worse situations in the past and survived.  Some have learned from the past and have written about what they have learned. 

Perhaps the following may help alleviate some of our concerns. 



No. 292

If we have a long-range view, then we realize that equilibrium comes in the course of nature's progression.  Nature does not achieve balance by keeping to one level.  Rather, elements and seasons alternate with one another in succession.  Balance, as defined by Tao, is not stasis but a dynamic process of many overlapping alternations; even if some phases seem wildly excessive, they are balanced by others.

Everything has its place.  Everything has its seasons.  As events turn, balance is to know what is here, what is coming, and how to be in perfect harmony with it.  Then one attains a state of sublimity that cannot be challenged.   

-- Deng Ming-Dao --
365 Tao:  Daily Meditations




Chapter 3

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
  
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes, 3:1-8.  KJV






     April's air stirs in
Willow-leaves--a butterfly
       Floats and balances
         -- Basho --
from A Little Treasury of Haiku 



Any thoughts?
 

18 comments:

  1. my boss used to say: "the more things change the more they stay the same"; reading about Millard Fillmore and the Know Nothing party, wild complexity seems to be the norm so far as American politics go; sort of like a Keystone Cops movie... and modern tech and communications just seem to make the problems worse... oh well, it's been a wild ride and it will soon be over...

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    1. Mudpuddle,

      Yes, the choice period will end, perhaps today, maybe later if someone files court challenges on losing.

      Once that's over, we will have to live with the consequences of that choice for four or more years.

      I wonder when they will begin talking about 2020.

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    2. don't know, but the odds are good i will have gone elsewhere...

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    3. Mudpuddle,

      Why do you think that (if I may be so nosy as to inquire)?

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    4. i'm old and have an unfortunate genetic history...

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    5. Mudpuddle,

      Sorry to hear that.

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    6. Mudpuddle,

      Not sorry about the "old" part, for that's good news. Sorry about the unfortunate genetic history part.

      I've been around the block a few times myself, and I think that's better than the alternative.

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  2. In all that you have included, I find myself thinking about natural law v. manmade law, especially as I find it illuminated in Shakespeare's _Macbeth_. To risk over-simplification of _Macbeth_, which I will soon write about at my blog, natural law (even when perverted by dark forces) will not be denied, and mortals who seek to pervert natural law will send themselves hurtling toward disaster. In other words, whatever people do to themselves and others, a higher law will sort everything out according to what is natural and durable. Well, I'm not sure my blathering is responsive to your posting, but that is what is on my mind.

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    Replies
    1. i take it you're talking about evolution... or maybe not. natural law to me means physics and chemistry, the forces that drive the universe; but i'm open-minded; i know not everybody thinks the way i do... or, come to think of it, anybody...

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    2. Mudpuddle, my definition and understanding of "natural law" includes anything and everything pertaining to existence and forces not manmade. Okay, that is a terrible definition. Well, consider this instead: http://www.iep.utm.edu/natlaw/

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    3. R.T.,

      Your natural law sounds much like the Tao or the Way and karma.

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  3. I appreciate your thoughts of balance Fred. In the end, they are essentially optimistic.

    With that really bad times to come and that does lead to people suffering. But, in this case I am optimistic that we may yet avoid the worst of those times.

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    1. Brian Joseph,

      Yes, optimistic in that bad times will end sometime. I don't agree with Orwell's image of a boot grinding one's face into the dirt forever. That too will come to an end, just as our time in the Garden of Eden had to come to an end.

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  4. I suddenly think of Charles Dickens and his opening words in _A Tale of Two Cities_. Hmmmm. Yes, even in paradox, balance matters.

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    1. R.T.,

      Your comment reminds me of another haiku:

      Life? butterfly
      On a swaying grass that's all . . .
      But exquisite!
      -- Soin --

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  5. we much appreciate your post in light of recent developments... tx

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    Replies
    1. Mudpuddle,

      Thank you and your comments are much appreciated also.

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