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Yin OR Yang

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Yin and Yang: The Paralysis of Perfect Balance

Yin and yang is the well-known symbol of the world's ever-moving duality. These are universal principles, but more specifically, yin or yang represents attitude — your chosen approach to life. While understanding the whole principle is helpful, trying to represent both sides simultaneously can be devastating. I’ve learned this through years of philosophical experience.

Nobody can deny the fundamental truth that everything has two sides. If we pay attention, it’s obvious. That was my starting point 20–30 years ago. When both sides are equal, they are in balance — in harmony — which means they are not moving. Like a scale: as long as one side is heavier, the scale moves. Harmony sounds appealing, but balance is also a form of stillness — in other words, death.

Consequently, harmony cannot last long because life is constant movement and change. An individual's desire for peace is often just the hope for a break — the weekend, the holiday. Otherwise, nothing can be achieved by remaining in harmony. Progress — movement — requires disharmony. It is a constant struggle between what is desired and what is present.

When I became a philosopher, I began to “fall off the other side of the horse” — overthinking and underacting. I started to understand both sides of everything from a detached, contemplative perspective. I began living only in my head. Whatever happened to me or around me, I analysed it from both angles — good and bad, right and wrong. I saw both sides of everything. And so, I became paralysed by my own thinking. This dual awareness made me uncertain about everything. Everything was good — and everything was bad.

I became the constant representative of both yin and yang.

Why is this devastating? Because, in other words, it means being in harmony — standing still — not living. If you fully achieve this state (which ironically may even be seen as a spiritual goal), you die. In this state, you represent male and female, forward and backward, good and evil, peace and war — all at once. Understanding how the world works doesn’t make you move. That’s pure contemplation — theoretical philosophy. Only choosing one side at a time gives you life and progress.

I was over fifty when I gave up this harmonious thinking. I let go of one side and chose the other as my own. And I began to notice real change in my life. For an exceptionally long period, I had refused to stand for anything, because I saw both the good and the evil in everything. But as far as I can tell, most people naturally take sides — either by choice or by circumstance. That’s the foundation of living.

Being and representing one of the two sides gives you energy and direction. Goals, achievements, and progress all require choosing either yin or yang at any given moment, and standing against the other. You need adversaries in life just as much as you need allies. There are no exceptions.

In conclusion: You are either in harmony, or you are improving. You cannot be both.

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