Darkness and Light
There is darkness and there is light. There is negativity and there is positivity. None of these are intrinsically bad or good. Just as electricity doesn't exist without both a negative and positive charge, both darkness and light are necessary for us to engage with the experience of life in this universe.
If there were only light, I suspect life and existence would be infinite boredom. If there were only one divine being in existence with no diversity, nothing else to interact with, you and I would not exist as separate entities to interact with each other. And if all were darkness, we could not see or experience anything either. We would be completely unconscious or not exist. And remember that all the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of a single candle.
We need both light and dark. As any good photographer will tell you, it is the contrast of light and shadows which creates beauty and mystery. It is the interplay of light and darkness and the infinite rainbow of colors and gradations that can be created from the two that give life its richness.
Could it be that life is most harmonious and joyful when we welcome both light and darkness and find a harmonious balance between the two? Could this be the middle path which is such an essential part of Buddhism? Could it be that when we learn to transcend duality, to dance in the cracks between and beyond light and darkness, we can have more fun? And remember that between the polarities of dark and light there is an infinite rainbow of fascinating colors and hues.
Darkness and Light
Beauty is seen only because of ugliness
Greatness is known only for its lack
Emptiness and fullness are born of each other
Difficulty and ease create one another
Long and short grow out of each other
High and low reflect one another
Sound and listening complement each other
Front and back follow one another
And on it goes…
Thus the wise pay no heed
Their acts without words showing the way
So do all things flow without thought
Creating without possessing
Acting without attachment
Achieving without claiming achievement
Existing without laying claim to existence
Thus moves all life unto eternity
Tao Te Ching
The Way of the Wise
Chapter Two
The above is chapter two, for intriguing chapter one, click here
This is part of the inspiring online lesson Beyond Duality
The above essay from one of the free Personal Growth Courses offered by PEERS