Monday, July 06, 2009

Definition - Balance

Balance: Of equality, or equilibrium between two contrary entities or forces.

Balance is a special case of equilibrium, which is a word used to describe more objects. Most people seek balance or equilibrium amongst the competing interests of their lives; it is regarded as the search for a state of inner peace and complete belonging.

Usually, people seem to feel they are under constant pressure away from balance, that their work/lives are regularly summited to events, accidents, duties that require them to stray from the center of certain personal balancing acts, this particular issue draws a physical analogy:
All, dynamic system, juggles and quickly strays from equilibrium. Although thermodynamics, states equilibrium is eventually inevitable, this juggling between inclinations is what permits actual work within the system.
So, actually, what moves individuals, societies, and life in general is the assurance or ability to do work between a useless chaos and a useless equilibrium.

With all this said; I would add it as an argument as to why the world has not flocked to be Tibetan Monks of harmony and equilibrium. Progress does not lie in pure chaos, nor in full equilibrium. It is found in optimizing our efficiency; because of this, we must never stop trying to obtain balance; and yet, obtaining it would be to our disadvantage.

3 comments:

todito said...

I would argue that your reasoning for explaining the "not everyone being a monk" idea, is not entirely correct.

Zen budhism, and many other oriental philosophies are not against or in favor of equilibrom or chaos. The right interpretation, I think, is that:
a) they propose an external reference frame from which balance and chaos are just states of the system (you are just watching).

or

b) you are the system, but not the states. i.e., balance or chaos are just temporary fluctuations of a larger theme.

Rodolfo Hansen said...

I agree, but I was not criticizing any of the points behind Zen Buddhism, meditation or anything of the sort. What I believe is that: society as a whole would be at a loss if everyone were a Zen Buddhist (stated in this way it seems obvious and dull).

Again, I believe, some of us should be Tibetan Monks, and that all of us, have a lot to learn from them, but at the end: in this universe, equilibrium is useless.

Unknown said...

Wonderfully said!!

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