A Perfect Union of Opposites

In a movie I was watching, one of the characters had a yin yang tattoo representing the perfect union of opposites. For some reason this line alone was what stood out to me about the film and got me thinking most.

I think that more of us need to have a yin yang tattoo. Well, perhaps not – but what we do need is to find balance in our lives. In our lives we sometimes find ourselves drawn to one part of our lives more than another.

I always find that once the school year starts, the other things in my life tend to fall by the wayside. I find myself staying long hours at school, I make myself available even on weekends for my students to contact me, I have grading that comes home with me,  which all mean I sometimes let the other parts of myself go. The end of the school year becomes much of the same as I work with my seniors to make sure they will make it to our finish line of graduation.

Every year, no matter how much I’ve been working out/running in the spring and summer, at the beginning of the school year that all comes to a stop. I fully immerse myself in my work, and that doesn’t do me any good – especially with my health. So this year, I’m trying my very best to find a balance. I’m still not running , but I’ve been making an effort to keep a workout routine and to have at least one yoga class a week. I try to make sure I have time to read and escape – even if it’s only for a few moments. I am trying to stay open to new opportunities that present themselves – such as salsa dancing and meeting new people.

However, this is only one example of not having the right balance of things in my life. I’m also a classic overthinker. When things don’t go right, I tend to dwell on them and think up every single scenario as to how I could have done things differently – what I could have said, how I could have acted, what if, what if, what if…
When people are suddenly gone, someone you thought would be there for longer, I think about how I could have done more, said more, been more. I wonder what would happen if…but then that leads to more anxiety because it’s something outside of my control.

There have been times in the past where I had let negativity and stress take the front seat; now I want to find the positive in situations. I don’t want to be the person who is always complaining about things outside of my control, or to be worn down by the stress of things. I’ve been instead trying to find the best that I can – if things don’t go the way I plan, then it’s an opportunity to learn. If things don’t go the way that they are scheduled then it’s an opportunity to enjoy the experience of things as I went through them. I’m trying to learn how to release those things into the universe and allow myself to be open to the things that come my way. I’m trying to learn from others – especially people who have different interests than I typically do, because it is being pushed outside of our comfort zones that allows us to grow and see new perspectives.

However, as with the yin and yang – we must acknowledge both sides of the situations. If we don’t allow ourselves to feel sadness or anger or stress or loss, then those negatives will build up and fester in a way that can manifest poorly for any of us. If we always try to put on the positive facade, it will crack. The key is to find the balance in every aspect.

There is always room for improving this balance and for finding new ways to bring that balance into existence. So please feel free to share ways in which you are able to achieve balance in your own lives.