Opposite Day - January 20th - Inauguration Day. Today is an amazing day. I can't remember a day like today. Sure, we have had other inauguration days, but not like this that I recall. The emotions around the Reagan and Obama inaugurations were very high too, but they were not as divided, as opposite. I can't imagine that as many people felt as strongly positive or as strongly negative about the same event.
Where some see great hope, others have great fear and disbelief. For every significant feeling some feel about today there is another group that is experiencing the antonym emotion.
It occurred to me there is something special about how opposite yet balanced, the emotions surrounding today are. Not for any individual person, but overall. That's when I recognized a connection to the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang.
I understand why this analogy is a stretch, but if you open your mind to the relationship I am proposing, you might just feel a bit better about today, regardless of whether you are positive or negative about what is happening! NOT because I am justifying Trump, but rather because there is something suitably valuable in the dissonance we all can recognize about this moment. If you can separate from your personal attitude, pro or con, and rise above that, you may sense what one ancient philosopher expressed about the power and importance of Yin and Yang: “If you can understand Yin and Yang you can hold the universe in your hands.”
If you don't wish to play along, this is the point I should lose you, so have a nice day. For the others, thank you for hanging on.
I will share some principles of Yin-Yang below, but I am not going to offer my explanation of the correlations I see with today's inauguration. You will have to work for that in your mind. Some reading this will mock this comparison. Fine with me, that is your loss in my opinion. But others, regardless of affiliation to party, ethnic or religious or any other cultural group, who recognize what I found, may get a similar sense of comfort in making the connection. For a moment perhaps. But that moment, that sense, can be applied. Hard to explain ... and I won't.
(What you see below is copied and pasted from online explanations of the Yin-Yang model.)
Everything contains Yin and Yang. They are two opposite yet complementary energies. What does this really mean? Although they are totally different—opposite—in their individual qualities and nature, they are interdependent. Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other; they are never separate.
The original concept of yin and yang came from the observation of nature and the environment. "Yin" originally referred to the shady side of a slope while "yang" referred to the sunny side. Later, this thinking was used in understanding other things, which occurred in pairs and had complementary and opposing characteristics in nature. Some examples include: sky and earth, day and night, water and fire, active and passive, male and female and so on. Working with these ideas, ancient people recognized nearly all things could have yin and yang properties.
(What you see below is copied and pasted from online explanations of the Yin-Yang model.)
Everything contains Yin and Yang. They are two opposite yet complementary energies. What does this really mean? Although they are totally different—opposite—in their individual qualities and nature, they are interdependent. Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other; they are never separate.
The original concept of yin and yang came from the observation of nature and the environment. "Yin" originally referred to the shady side of a slope while "yang" referred to the sunny side. Later, this thinking was used in understanding other things, which occurred in pairs and had complementary and opposing characteristics in nature. Some examples include: sky and earth, day and night, water and fire, active and passive, male and female and so on. Working with these ideas, ancient people recognized nearly all things could have yin and yang properties.
- First, the theory of Yin-Yang tells us that at the macro level—the largest scale imaginable—all things are always balancing and rebalancing into a state of perfect harmony. Yes, there is ceaseless change, yet this movement and flux, at its deepest level, is creating harmony, is perfect harmony. Yin and Yang are the two energies that embody Universal law, which ensures that all things remain in harmony.
- In the Chinese Yin-Yang model, Yin (the black) contains a seed of Yang (in the form of a white dot). There is Yin, but interestingly, Yin is also Yang because it contains some Yang. The truth is Yin can transform into Yang under certain conditions. It can do this because Yang is present in Yin.
- It’s often difficult to actually see this harmony on a smaller scale, in the world around us, for instance. It isn’t always apparent in the world humans have created and especially in our busy, frequently complicated modern lives. But think about it: if you really understand and believe in Yin and Yang, harmony is the Universal architectural framework that underlies and impacts this reality. So in essence, harmony is the only ground we walk on and is the very air we breathe.
- The entire Universal pattern is one of establishing balance and harmony. This perspective can help you more peacefully view the world and your role in it.
So whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, a male or a female, black or white, we all have a bit of each other inside of us. Which means we all have the ability to find empathy. And that is enough of a reason to be hopeful!
