The Balance

"The idea is unnatural naturalness or natural unnaturalness, I mean, it's a combination of both. I mean, here is natural instinct and here is control; you are to combine the two in harmony. Not, if you have one to the extreme, you will be very unscientific; if you have another to the extreme, you become, all of a sudden, a mechanical man, no longer a human being; so you, it is a successful combination of both...and that way it is a process of continuing growth." -Bruce Lee

This saying is a great example as to the beauty of being a human being. We are unique organisms in that, not only do we have the ability to consciously experience our physical world, but we also have the ability to measure and record what we observe so that we can actually explain what it is we are experiencing. But the real challenge in being a human is the balancing act of it all.

Yes, we still exhibit some traits that we share with our animal friends such as greed and war. But we forget that what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom is we have the ability to reason, and use logic to elevate thought to a level that pushes us over what hinders us from the potential that we can actually attain.

But because things are unbalanced, because we are not learning how to listen to our instincts while at the same time observing what is going on around us, we suffer. You can see it in the way we relate to one another, in the business that we conduct, in the way that we exist within our planetary environment. The methods that we use to live and to conduct civilization are self defeating. Of course there are pockets that show the contrary: we have the red cross feeding and clothing people, and programs like habitat for humanity providing shelter and a clean environment. But we also have profit-driven business, which puts the profit before the customer. We have energy extraction procedures that do more harm to the environment than we will even know right now. We are out of balance with the nature in which we exist.

Until we as a species figures out a way to exist in balance with our surroundings, we are doomed to defeat ourselves. And I hope we can attain that balance before it is too late...