Have you heard the saying “Too much of a good thing is no good”? That is exactly right! Too well just not balanced. So I’m on my perfect vacation where you get all the peace and quiet. Everything is harmonious and just as I had wanted it, for days. Until one day a family arrives with an autistic child next door (the resort is just 6 townhouses on a private beach). Oh boy, talk about noise and a complete lack of peace and quiet! Finally! Balance is restored.

So what does Balance really mean? Many mistakenly think that balance is the same as harmony. However, assuming that the existence of harmony is desirable and positive, while its absence is undesirable and considered negative, then balance and harmony are not the same. Rather, balance is the meeting point between harmony and disharmony; is what you find in between. In other words, if you feel harmony, the law of balance will bring you disharmony so that you can experience both sides of the balance and return to balance.

Thus, being in balance is not directly related to feeling good. If you have positive feelings, the law of balance is what brings you negative feelings in the next round so that you can experience both sides and regain balance. In effect, the law of balance attracts the opposite of what you have so that the two things cancel each other out and give you a state of neutrality. If you are looking too much for the positive and resisting or fearing the negative, you are not looking for true balance. Rather, you hope to maintain a state of imbalance, which of course is impossible. So instead of striving for the impossible, it’s much better to just let go. Know that the law of balance is always working and always makes sure that your life is in balance. The rise always comes after the fall. And the descent always comes after the ascent.

Importantly, our brain can only experience time as linear, and therefore cannot see the whole (perfectly balanced!) picture in its entirety simultaneously. This explains the pain caused by seemingly unbalanced negative experiences (although they are always preceded and always followed by positive experiences). Since we operate in a state of limited awareness where we feel fragmented, dual, and separate, we simply cannot comprehend the fact that everything is connected and goes together. So we feel pain for the “negative” half of our life. But this pain is absolutely unavoidable, and it is exactly what balances the positive half of life in our world of dual perception.

However, although the pain is eternal, the suffering is still optional. Knowing that the law of balance constantly gives us a glass half full and half empty at the same time, and that this equation can never change, can help us accept limitations and accept them. Acceptance alone removes the struggle and opens the door to living in true balance, trusting that things will come to zero no matter what we do and how we think. Resistance, on the other hand, is what brings suffering. So don’t resist! Accept that you are always going to have a cup that is half full and half empty (i.e. in balance) and choose to focus on what is in the cup, not what is missing.