Vincent AcelingReinvent Your Life: Be a Master of the Yang, not a Slave to the Ying!
August 16th 2008 19:14
I've been meaning to write about the ying and yang for quite some time; particularly my new found awareness of how it is ever so present in my own life. As many of you already know, the concept of yin and yang describes two opposing and, at the same time, complementary (completing) aspects of any one phenomenon (object or process) or comparison of any two phenomena. They are universal standards of quality at the basis of the systems of correspondence seen in most branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy. At least that's how it is described in Wikipedia...
Now, it may be old news to some of you more enlightened folks out there, but I began to notice the reality of the ying and the yang in my own life. For instance, whenever something TOTALLY EXCELLENT happens to me, whenever I come across some good fortune or perform some good deed, an equally opposing force inevitably comes about later on that day.
I remember one time I was on a "high" after accomplishing something at work and I was Mr. Smiles to everyone I passed all day (a really strange thing if you happen to be in New York) -- I even opened the door for a little, old lady as she was leaving a Duane Reade store... when the Ying suddenly slapped me across the face; a middle aged, 'rough-looking woman' brushed passed this poor, old lady and looked me straight in the eye muttering, "Get the f*%k outta my way!"
Well, the expected reaction I would have given was," F*%k you", but I held back and took three deep breaths to calm myself (see my post on Avoiding Conflict). I came to the realization that this unpredictable, unexpected event occurred in order to provide balance to the positive energy that I was projecting.
If I reacted in the expected fashion and had given the "rough-looking woman" a hefty, "F*%k you", I would have expended about half of my positive energy, convert it into negative energy, and subsequently I would have felt less positive or even neutral from that point on.
Instead, I took a different path... I let my feeling of rage pass and I focused on helping the little, old lady who was pushed aside and managed to smile at her. She smiled back and thanked me... adding a little more to my positive energy.
Following that incident, I decided to conduct a difficult social experiment... I decided that I would project positive energy and try hard not to let anything bring me down. The results? Good things happened, but bad things soon followed. These bad things however were a test of my resiliency.
So, in conclusion... stay positive! It's difficult... but if you can manage it, you'll notice a big change in your world, even for just a day or week!
If you have noticed similar things in your life... please leave me a comment and share your thoughts... thanks!
Now, it may be old news to some of you more enlightened folks out there, but I began to notice the reality of the ying and the yang in my own life. For instance, whenever something TOTALLY EXCELLENT happens to me, whenever I come across some good fortune or perform some good deed, an equally opposing force inevitably comes about later on that day.
I remember one time I was on a "high" after accomplishing something at work and I was Mr. Smiles to everyone I passed all day (a really strange thing if you happen to be in New York) -- I even opened the door for a little, old lady as she was leaving a Duane Reade store... when the Ying suddenly slapped me across the face; a middle aged, 'rough-looking woman' brushed passed this poor, old lady and looked me straight in the eye muttering, "Get the f*%k outta my way!"
Well, the expected reaction I would have given was," F*%k you", but I held back and took three deep breaths to calm myself (see my post on Avoiding Conflict). I came to the realization that this unpredictable, unexpected event occurred in order to provide balance to the positive energy that I was projecting.
If I reacted in the expected fashion and had given the "rough-looking woman" a hefty, "F*%k you", I would have expended about half of my positive energy, convert it into negative energy, and subsequently I would have felt less positive or even neutral from that point on.
Instead, I took a different path... I let my feeling of rage pass and I focused on helping the little, old lady who was pushed aside and managed to smile at her. She smiled back and thanked me... adding a little more to my positive energy.
Following that incident, I decided to conduct a difficult social experiment... I decided that I would project positive energy and try hard not to let anything bring me down. The results? Good things happened, but bad things soon followed. These bad things however were a test of my resiliency.
So, in conclusion... stay positive! It's difficult... but if you can manage it, you'll notice a big change in your world, even for just a day or week!
If you have noticed similar things in your life... please leave me a comment and share your thoughts... thanks!
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