Achieving the Balance of Forces

Think of our world as a Shared Mind, the Mind of Nature, the realm of our collective operating system. From ancient days through these modern times, society has been built using two countervailing forces. Like the Deva and Assura of the Rig Veda, these are the mythological groundings of good or evil, positive or negative, white blood cells and their virus nemesis.

Apply this fundamental dichotomy to the interactions we are experiencing today and you'd be looking at a society that sits between the forces of Control and Freedom. People find it natural to align with or against either the "Control Freaks" and "Anarchists," names commonly used in describing one another in a negative context.

The "control freaks" are the powers-that-be. They refer to the "anarchists" as dangerous and out of control, and respond to them as a threat that must be contained or extinguished.

Conversely, "anarchists" regard "control freaks" as oppressors, obsessed with domination and corrupting power, and respond to them as a threat to a life free of the control freaks.

Both of these forces are capable of brutality, and as such, regard each other as brutal, especially in relation to each other. Ironically, they can also easily switch roles. When "Anarchists" take control, the "Control Freaks" call for liberation. And so it goes, on and on, centuries after centuries.

These two natures can be better understood if observing them from the Buddhist standpoint, a wisdom portal called the Middle Path, used for understanding what’s really going on. The Middle Path is a paradox revealed when what we are observing is neither this nor that, but inclusive of its opposites.

It opens our eyes to the possibility that the extreme forces of our modern social interplay are neither in control nor free, yet our lives are pulled both ways. When we find the harmonious midpoint of these forces, the tension produced by these phenomenal counterweights is held in sustainable balance, which has been a challenge to accomplish across the Ages.

Balance is also the goal of meditation. In Buddhism, balance is a state of harmony.

We have historical evidence that achieving social balance is a far more effective growth and development path than domination by either extreme. History clearly shows that societies rise or fall when they swing too far towards domination or wildness.

Following this line of contemplation, the wise person will discover a silver lining embedded in the Mind of Nature. You might never have noticed this option before…no less focused on manifesting it. But here it is for you to do with as you will.

The harmony of control and freedom is a formula for sustainable (enlightened) development.

If you exert yourself to open your mind to the Middle Path, you’ll see the implications.

Let those discoveries sink in.

A caveat: Achieving a balance of forces is not compromise, certainly not so when none are satisfied. Rather, it is a state of synergy, when all parties are more satisfied than ever.

The wisdom to achieve a balance of forces could be your guiding light in any endeavor involving people. It could give you the ability to build bridges of harmony by finding a balanced synergy of freedom and control.