BALANCE

There is nothing wrong with extremes in life. In fact, extremes give strength to the whole by discovering new ways of survival and growth. Nothing new comes out of average or common qualities; yet they are also very important, for it is the common qualities which sustain the new which has been created. Both are extremely necessary in there proper place. Balance must be learned and understood in order to choose what is best for the whole and for your spiritual growth. It is balance which gives man control over his life.

One of the functions of balance is to prevent us from becoming disillusioned along the path to enlightenment. Everything in life has an upside and a downside. The most glamorous movie star loses his freedom to get lost in a crowd, the rich man worries of ways to protect his wealth and possessions, and the hobo has the time to do anything and the money to do nothing.

As far as the spiritual journey goes, it is possible to study, meditate, pray, or even love too much, as well as too little. All the parts of our mind and emotions crave to have expression and must be kept in balance. Our bodies need exercise and play and our senses need stimulation. We must not take life or the spiritual journey too seriously, it is to be enjoyed. All of life is a part of the religious experience and a part of the whole, which is God.

One area which most people take for granted and which needs changing is the way they view the world and its natural substances. They fail to see the spirituality in the common substances such as water, air, earth, and the sun. They worship the supernatural substance like heavens, angels and deities, despite never having experienced them. Spiritual truth lies in the knowledge that all the world and that which fills it, is holy.

The world and problems, injustices and inconsistencies, will be clearly understood if you start by seeing certain simple truths. The most basic of truths is that God is the whole. Individuals, families, and nations are all parts which make up the whole. These wholes within wholes are valuable for study, for if you completely know any whole system, you will begin to know the greatest whole which is God.

Because God’s nature is survival and growth, these two qualities exist, to some degree, in all things. Variety is perhaps the single most survival oriented quality in existence. God created the countless variations of life and qualities so there would always be a way for at least one of them to survive and grow. This is why you have your strengths and weaknesses. We often hate our weaknesses but those very same weaknesses have a strong side that is often hidden. We are all composed of upsides and downsides, as is all of creation. The definition of evil is the downside of the human species. But, if you step above the human scale, good and evil cease to exist. When we watch a colony of ants invade another colony, we fail to feel or see injustice or evil. This is the way the atrocities of man are seen from the viewpoint of the Holy Spirit.

There is a price for everything good and a blessing in everything bad. We may not like it, but it is the way things were created and we must learn to accept, understand and live with it. We can focus on the optimistic or the pessimistic side of life, or we can take an overview and see all in its entirety as the whole.

One example of good and bad in balance is the population explosion of human life. The invention of animal husbandry and agriculture has caused overpopulation, which in turn has caused pollution of the earth, air and sea. Yet this was the price we had to pay for our wisdom, art, science, and philosophy. It was the price of knowing ourselves and God, and defeating the superstitions which have mislead us for hundreds of thousands of years. So while it may seem that we are destroying our world, we are also entering into the golden age of wisdom.

Religions are also a balance of strengths and weaknesses. They appeal to those seeking to acquire the particular qualities worshiped. Religions specialize in combinations of qualities such as power, faith, bravery, love or mercy. Few religions, however, have their strength in wisdom because after the founder has died they are unable to change, and they become ridged and obsolete. No one religion is strong in everything. If you want to strengthen or enhance a quality, you may have to change religions, jobs, friends, or what ever it takes to surround yourself with the quality you wish to become. You may, however, eventually realize that the combination of qualities you now have, is perfect for you; and, that your particular variation of life is a necessary part of the whole. The whole would be incomplete without you. Once you realize this, you will begin to move in harmony with the world.