The Yin Yang Balance

The people who physically bring life into this world are hardly recognized. Mothers are unsung heroes, especially those who are raising children without any partners and within small communities of support. What do we need to do to move more women into positions of power & influence? A lot of time and energy well spent is put into providing the pathway for women to trail into positions of power and leadership. Not only do women leaders need to be uplifted, valued and visible, the feminine equation of the yin yang needs to be restored. Everyone can benefit from balancing the masculine and feminine energies we all hold within ourselves.

I appreciate male allies who stand for feminism and do their best to hold spaces for the feminine. I think is it important to be reminded what this means? Our view has been distorted with qualities of male dominance (yang) having driven the direction of leadership and power for so long. Naturally, not all masculine qualities we hold are bad; I am suggesting that we raise our awareness to balance out these qualities with the feminine ones that are already present within us. If you notice you are coming on to strong perhaps take a step back and listen for a bit. If you have been pushing yourself to do something so desperately, stop for a moment and ask yourself what your intentions are?

This imbalance of these energies leads to illness, burn out, and bad feelings about yourself and those around you. What can you do to work toward the balance? One feminine quality that continues to be a necessity is one of introspection. The culture of busy has been tolerated for too long. Mistakes could be avoided if we were open to kind self analysis that connected us with true feelings and allowances to listen to that intuitive inner voice. The term “burn out” was conceived out of workers driving themselves so hard that they knocked themselves out. To avoid burn out, balance needs to be a practice. For checks and balances to be in place, regular feedback certainly can help. Giving ourselves permission to say “no” also is a healthy practice. I don’t use the word practice lightly; you must learn and practice these habits in order to restore more balance.

What are your favorite masculine qualities? What are your favorite feminine qualities? None of them will make you less of a man, woman, and/or however you choose to identify yourself. The entire point of the yin and yang is to flow with the balance of both energies; they should exist together even though they are direct opposites, like dark and light, cold and hot, passive and active, the moon and the sun. One can not exist without the other; actually they rely on each other. How do they work together for you and make you a happy, balanced person? You can be tough and tender at the same time. I encourage you to embrace the yin as much as the yang. Look for the softer qualities in yourself that work with the harder qualities. Look for the quietness in action and the action in quietness.