I’m lying in bed after having turned off the reading light. All is dark outside my bedroom window save for a few twinkling stars. The stillness of the night is broken by the loud hooting sound that must be a Great Horned Owl. I wonder about this lonely owl. Is its hoot a mating call or just a shout out into the night seeking some fellow companionship? I think about all the people in the neighborhood who have also put out their lights for the night. The neighborhood is dark and quiet, except for this soulful sound which echoes through the forest of stately pines and permeates through the walls of this house and every house in hooting distance. Its sound seemingly vibrates one’s bones. With all of the entrapments of modern life that stuff our brains with nonessentials, this instinctual sound reminds us that nature carries on despite man’s + 27 – Yin and Yang of Life
In eastern thought, these two complementary forces make up all aspects and phenomena of life.
Yin is the black part of the symbol and is conceived of as earth. It represents femaleness, darkness, passivity, and absorption. It is present in even numbers, in valleys and streams. Yin can be described as a time of receptiveness as in winter. Yin is the feeling of relaxation and the accepting what is – the being
Yang is the white part of the symbol and is conceived of as heaven. It represents maleness, light, activity and penetration. It is present in odd numbers and in the mountains. Yang is a time of activeness as in summer. Yang is the tension and the feeling of what needs to be done – the doing.
Why is it that in American culture, there is so much more importance placed on the doing and getting things done and not on acceptance of what is and enjoyment of just being present in the moment.
This shopping weekend has me thinking about all this as Americans immerse themselves in the shopping experience of Black Friday, small business Saturday and cyber Monday. It is all about consuming more and more at the expense of our poor planet’s resources. New storage facilities will have to be erected in every small town and city to contain the hoard of unnecessary goods bought this Christmas season. What a world we live in. Most of the items were bought to make people happy. Who doesn’t want to see a happy face on Christmas morning. But it is a temporary kind of happiness. One that can not make up for the unhappiness that lies within the soul and the heart. It will take more than a brightly wrapped package to fix that. It is hard to come to terms with the idea that thoughtfulness might entail giving less and being more.
