The perspectives of Yin and Yang
I can’t help but think of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s (TCM) concept of yin and yang and how powerful it is to change your perspective. It’s a simple and elegant representation of the power of perspective. You may recall the ubiquitous image representing Yin and Yang. You may even know that it is designed to show movement and balance within the same space. However, did you know the depth of meaning behind yin and yang?
My mind immediately goes to the thought experiment Schrodinger’s cat, when thinking about Yin and Yang. Specifically, the idea that something can be both alive and dead at the same time. This is similar to the concept of yin and yang. Yin and Yang is about polarity and dichotomy of two things existing at the same time. The balance between the two things adjusts depending on circumstances. More importantly, one cannot exist without the other. For example, you hot cannot exist without cold. The symbol shows the movement from yin into yang, where the black becomes the white and vice versa.
Beyond the binary
Learning about Chinese medicine nearly broke my brain, because I had to change my mindset about anything being binary. Nothing is binary and everything is evaluated in the landscape of something else. What TCM teaches is that something cannot be yin or yang. It can be either, or both, but only in comparison to something else. Take for instance, the last time you got sick. It wasn’t bad or good in and of itself. It just was, but compared to the person in the hospital with the same virus, you were doing better. Compared with someone that had the same cold with no symptoms, you were doing worse. Depending on the context, you can’t be great without something less great to compare against.
Yin and yang of the gratitude perspective
Gratitude is another way to think about yin and yang theory. Let’s say for example, you are getting laid off at work. In many ways, this could be a terrible situation, but it depends on the context. Perhaps you were working in a toxic job and you were about to quit , but then received a severance package. In this scenario it’s easy to be grateful for the 3 month sabbatical, or rolling into a new job. Gratitude can be a powerful tool for dealing with difficult situations because it allows you to change your perspective. I’m not talking about spewing toxic positivity, rather shifting your perspective a little, to see things in a different light.
Using yin and yang to change your perspective
It’s easy to take the lesson of yin and yang into your daily life to shift your perspective. Sometimes things are less ideal or more ideal, but it depends on what you are comparing it to. If you are only seeing the yin of a problem, what is the yang. Things aren’t ideal or not ideal in and of themselves. For example, a dream job of compliance accounting sounds like another’s personal nightmare, so everything is relative. Just how the perspective of a painting changes depending on where you stand, so do we. Our perspective changes depending on if the sun is shining on our face or on our backs.
How is your perspective serving you right now? Need help changing your perspective but not sure where to begin? Let’s have a conversation.