Opposing Words

In order to attain strength, we must brave fear. The word brave and fear need to come together to attain strength. These contrasts are found in almost everything we have ever done. Think back to the first time you spoke in public. In order to overcome stage fright and command presence, you needed to gain acceptance- of yourself. The main reason people have stage fright is because they think they will be booed off stage or be boring, sound stupid, or upset somebody. So in order to overcome fright, you needed to know more about yourself, gain acceptance, of yourself. So ultimately, in order to overcome fear, you must seek knowledge, in this case, its knowledge of yourself. Usually life is paralleled in opposing forces. According to Sir Isaac Newton, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Could that not be also applied to concepts and themes in life? In order to understand hate, you have to understand love. In order to succeed, at some point you have to fail first. There are always outliers to these laws of course, but in general, its interesting how this works. In sticking with this theme, in order for a tree to GROW, it first has to shed it's leaves and DETERIORATE them back into the soil as rich nutrients. In order for people to grow, we have to shatter old layers to grow new ones.

Perhaps this is where that expression "No pain, No gain" comes from. So in the greater tapestry of life, our mishaps are preparations for the pendulum to swing back the other way. Isn't that life though? When we experience a really horrible tragedy, usually more unfold within the same timeframe (When it rains, it pours), because the pendulum is still swinging in one direction. It will eventually swing back if you allow it to. But if you keep nudging it, it may never swing back.