Flaming Waterdrops

  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, th...

You can scoop water, but you cannot grip it or crush it. Water makes no effort to be high; it naturally seeks the lowest point. If you try to raise it or strike it, it resists and pushes back. It has no will to serve what is claimed—it simply serves. Water nourishes all things. It waters flowers, sustains living beings, cleanses, softens, and embraces. Water always tries to come to rest, yet it cannot be stopped until it reaches its final destination. If you place something in its path, it finds a way around. It can bring down barriers. It seeps through the smallest cracks. Water clings stubbornly to some things, yet it only serves: washing, carrying, softening, cleansing, and shaping. It can evaporate or freeze when influenced. It is unbreakable and invulnerable. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape. Water is clear and transparent—it conceals nothing. If undisturbed, you can see yourself reflected in it. But if you stir it, your reflection becomes distorted—just as ...