I call these four years my “Point 0.” They formulated the base of who I was, and they were spiritually dominant. In the spiritual world suffering doesn’t exist. I didn’t suffer. When I sensed any bit of suffering arise, I would refocus on the present moment and just un-attach from any bothering thought, and my suffering would be relieved. But I also wasn’t experiencing the joy I once had experienced before. I never got too excited about any one thing. I would just float by and observe everything that happened. I would never commit to what I was seeing, instead viewing what I saw from a distance. I was the observer and only the observer. I was reserved, and I was scared. I maintained a fear of suffering and an unwillingness to delve into any sort of life experience, because suffering may be the result. After I had a conversation with a friend about this lifestyle and what I was missing through non-attachment, my perception began to change. My ego tried to hold on, but in the end I let go of my attachment to this non-attachment philosophy.
Ying and Yang is a Chinese philosophy that describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate. The whole of the greater ying and yang is greater than it’s parts. Ying means “north side of the hill” (away from the sun). It’s understood as negative, passive, shaded and hidden. It is also characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, cold, wet, feminine and tranquil. Yang means “south side of the hill” (facing the sun). It is understood as active, open, and relieving. It is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, masculine and aggressive. In the ying yang symbol, the dark (ying) and light (yang) forces are connected. Within each holds its opposite:
- Light and darkness
- Fire and water
- Blessing and resentment
- Love and hatred
- Joy and suffering
St. John of the Cross’s “Dark Night of the Soul” describes how through the darkness one comes to light. Jesus had to suffer a period of darkness before he himself was brought to light. You often hear how individuals through suffering come to new realizations or become enlightened. You also hear of its opposite: when somebody is high on their egoic horse they inevitably fall off to a period of darkness. Every individual, group, or nation riding high will lose track of their weakness, which will eventually take over.
"Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18
The impediment that holds us back from experiencing the greatness of something we want to experience is the fear of experiencing the greatness of its opposite, something we don’t want to experience. Once we begin to perceive the interconnectedness of life’s dual forces, however, we lose grip of the fear we’ve held onto to embrace the abundant life we were created for. When we look back from our deathbeds at the life we’ve lived, we will thus be filled with utmost joy, appreciation, and contentment of all the sufferings and joys we went through. We will be filled with unconditional love for our life as a whole, and thank God for giving us a rich human experience.
This world is an abusive place, but it is also beautiful. The fearless experiencer is not only willing to experience the greatness of light but is also willing to experience the greatness of darkness, for out of light comes darkness and out of darkness comes light.
You never know what you got until it’s gone.
Tobymac
The dance between darkness and light will always remain— the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.
C. JoyBell C.
Animals are something invented by plants to move seeds around. An extremely yang solution to a peculiar problem which they faced.
Terence McKenna
Accept your dark side, understanding it will help you to move with the light. Knowing both sides of our souls, helps us all to move forward in life and to understand that, perfection doesn't exist.
Martin R. Lemieux
Your greatest attribute, that which allows you to accomplish most in life and the most treasured aspect of your being will often be the source of your greatest suffering.
Chris Matakas
The world is, was, will always be filled with good and evil, because good and evil is the yin and yang of the human condition.
Philip Zimbardo
Often, the truly great and valuable lessons we learn in life are learned through pain. That's why they call it "growing pains." It's all about yin and yang. And that's not something you order off column A at your local Chinese restaurant.
Fran Drescher
Yin and Yang are two convenient polar opposites that are used to explain how things function in relation to one another and to the universe. No entity can be seen in isolation; everything is connected.
W. John Diamond
I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light.
Barbara Brown Taylor
In my darkest hour, the light of God have shine upon me and directed my path.
Lailah Gifty Akita
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Lao Tzu
The heart that gives, gathers.
Lao Tzu
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13
