Yin & Yang: Embracing Opposites

The opposite of action is not inaction: it is presence.

The opposite of instability is not certainty: it is faith.

The qualities of Yin-Yang are opposites however they do not cancel each other out. They are relative to each other and one cannot exist without the other. They are the rules of interconnectedness. Somehow life seems to express itself through polarities: you cannot experience strength without knowing weakness, you only feel warmth because you can experience cold. How can you experience day without night? We cannot separate these ‘opposites’ but yet we seem to insist on feeling only the shiny half.

We are made up of two selves. One is the ideal self, the person we want to be. One is the real self, the person who is less polished and maybe limited. These two selves war against each other causing discontent. This is our inner turmoil we struggle with. Remember whatever we feed we grow. You need both selves and you must learn to channel attention and energy in a balanced way to both sides. Receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect of that cycle doesn’t function, the entire cycle ceases to function and the life force cannot move freely.

What is important is to realize that whether we understand fully who we are, it’s our purpose to grow as human beings, to look within ourselves, to find and build upon that source of peace and understanding and strength that is our individual self. The key to the path of self acceptance is an appreciation for the present moment and a cultivation of an intimate relationship with oneself through a continual attending to both sides and embracing opposing dualities.

 

“Yang is will and yin is wisdom, and one without the other is neither, and together they are joy. Yang is as the day, turning into night, and yin the night preceding the day; the one is the force that drives the waves of the ocean forward, the other the force that draws them back so that they may go forward again.” Patricia Jaudry