LIFE IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE

Life is all about balance. It is a principle which is universally applicable in universe and is a secret key to harmonious existence of every living or inanimate creation of nature. Let us understand this concept by taking few examples from our daily life.  A perfect dish requires balance of all ingredients in recipe. A perfect piece of music needs balance of all notes/melodies. A perfect painting needs balance of colours /storks on canvas. For perfect drive on road, you need to balance your speed according to conditions. There should be a balance of gases in environment to breath easily. A balanced diet is required to make our body and mind healthy.

Similarly, this balance principle can be applied to our behaviour, thoughts, actions and emotions. Whatever we do, think or feel, it should be balanced. Take an example of fear, which is a natural emotion and present in all species on earth. It has survival value and each person must have fear upto some extent. It keep us alert, active, safe and motivate to take quick action during threatful situation. Without fear, we would not able to survive. Likewise, excessive fear is pathological. It termed into anxiety or phobia. Similar is the case with anger as an emotion. Excessive anger cause devastation whereas no anger mean, vulnerable to exploitation by others.

A child, who exclusively focus on study, is actually compromising with other important aspects of personality- like social, emotional and physical growth. A person with over religious mind is ignoring his job, family and social responsibilities. A person may have an intense craving for money, sex, status, leadership, prestige, drugs etc. and may overlook ethics or virtues of life to fulfill his lusty passions.  Likewise balance in thoughts is essential too. Mind  is designed to think constantly, both positively and negatively. Psychologists never say that negative thinking is bad. However, if you perceive everything in black it is pathological and termed as depression. Balance of negative and positive thinking makes the life smooth and helps in taking decision with cautions.

Now the question arises, what is balance? How one can decide about the exact proportion of balance? Although the answer to this question is tedious and there is no scale or measurement for it. Still psychologists say, any thing which impair physical, social, occupational and emotional functioning is termed as excess or out of margin. For analogy, I give the following example: suppose you are hungry, and you feel something to eat. It means, your body has some imbalance of nutrition. After eating food, you feel satisfied and relax. Your body restores the balance.  In the same way, every balanced action, behaviour, emotions and thought give you internal satisfaction and release your anxiety.

Thus explore the point of balance in your life, by achieving it, you will feel enthusiasm, zeal, contentment and freedom from anxiety.

 

 Impermanence: A Universal Truth

From Buddhism Teachings 

Various concepts from Buddhist teachings are useful and practical from psychological view point. Among'st these, concept of “Impermanence" are being discussed here. As mentioned n Buddhism the cause of various Dukhas is cravings (which lead to clinging) for sensations, perceptions, beliefs, expectations, opinions, rituals images of self and model of reality. Also, it has been explained that if we want to get rid from our dukhas we need to terminate our craving or clinging to these subjective or materialistic  objects. 

Now the question arises, “How one can cease clinging”? The answer is- we need to understand the universal truth of Impermanence. We all know that everything in his world is mortal. Either it is an object or any organism. All that born or be created or existed in this universe has to be died or cease or change. The world around us always keeps on changing. It is not static. It is progressive. Even our body keep on changing every second. We grow, mature and then die. Our cities, our countries our earth, moreover, the whole universe (the planets, stars or galaxies) are changing every second.

If every thing in this universe is impermanent, then why one should have craving or clinging to a particular object, situation or events.  Let  us take two examples:

You buy a new car. You like your new car very much. You take care of it, say you fall in love with your new car. After some years of its use when the life of car comes to an end what you do? Of course, you will replace it. You shall buy a new car. You have to part your clinging and accept new change.

You have one of your favourite shirt or jean. You always like to wear it with great passion. How long it remain with you? After all it will tear. Finally you have to say goodbye to it, and to accept another dress.

But in our day to day life we find it very hard to accept new changes. Whenever there is a small change in either our personal, social, interpersonal or occupational life we disappoint  We still want that old thing. We expect, every thing should remain same. If we cling to our past (any thing in question) or unable to accept the new or changed situation, it hurt and creates lot of problems in life like anxiety, depression, frustration, stress and adjustment issues.

Whether the change is at personal level (physical change, change in thoughts, change in family, job, environment, relationship)  or at social level i.e. change in values, culture, norms, ethics etc., one has to accept these changes to keep ourselves in state of harmony with oneself or with our environment.