Balance is what keeps us alive and what infuses all life with the potential for change and adaptation. In its most primal sense, it is the internal and external communion organisms share with their environment, and vice versa. As shadows, however, we take this natural definition and extend it to all aspects of our mind, body and spirit, to every level of our being.
For a shadow, Balance is knowing when and why we take action and move in the Flow of the Force. Due to self-actualization of the Force (where we come to acknowledge its existence), the shadow adept realizes that everything is the same in Essence: from the tree on your block to a man riding a bicycle in Singapore, to the pebble on a highway: each and every object flows forth and returns to the Tao, the supreme Force. It is this realization that the shadow adept beings to practice balance. So what is Balance? A quote from Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching:
“Being and non-being create each other. Difficult and easy support each other. Long and short define each other. High and low depend on each other. Before and after follow each other.”
As the stanza above suggests, its not that there is a high or a low, or that something is difficult or easy. Rather, the shadow in Balance sees the utter unity of all things, so he or she sees things as high and low, difficult and easy. One with the Tao, the shadow can act with the knowledge and internal acceptance that everything is in a constant state of flux, and we should act accordingly to this state of being. See the unity in everything!
Extending this concept to our body and mind, a shadow adept uses Balance to penetrate the works of their nervous, muscular, digestive, skeletal, and spiritual systems. An example would be eating: when you eat more grains, fruits and lean meats, then consume three cupcakes, you can feel the difference in how your body takes in and uses the ‘fuel’. Shadow adepts want to follow the natural way of the Force, therefore they become natural people (especially in eating habits).
Balance is also not many things: Balance is not walking a tightrope between two extremes, hoping that you won’t fall down. Balance is not constructing artificial barriers and saying, “Well, as long as I stay within these limits, I’m balanced and OK (in fact, this would disperse your spirit more because artificial constructs tend to limit your expression and outlook on life.)
Most importantly, Balance cannot be stagnation: letting your own ‘rules’ and ‘code’ freeze your progress and appreciation of our place with the Tao because you think it is ‘balanced enough.’ Having a personal code can be a great thing, but as shadows we need to always keep out mindfulness on the use of our codes and beliefs.
Remember, you are in control of your own path, and if you bathe in the shadows, you must also wash yourself with the Balance of the Tao that is in all things. Be well, and may you allow the Force to be with you, and bathe you in eternity every second.