Unsure of what to write about today, I opened my thesaurus at random and stuck my finger on the left hand side of the page, thinking it would be a good exercise for me to expound on whatever I happened to point out. And the word was...MODERATION. So here we go - some thoughts on moderation.
I detest most forms of moderation for they are the antithesis of passion. Moderate people are easy to live with and moderate opinions are easy to accept. There is a certain amount of safety in moderation for you will never come close to excess or abstinence. Lukewarm is another word we can talk about. Neither hot nor cold. Lukewarm water, lukewarm tea, lukewarm beer, lukewarm Coke...ugh!
I used to equate moderation and balance, but a friend set me straight on that inaccurate assumption. I like balance, for it means you can take two extreme items and ultilize them to maintain stability. If you were to mush the opposites together and place the mixture in the middle you would get nothing more than a brownish stew and added dead weight. But if you let the black be black and the white be white, the very position of these two extremes i.e. "waaaay out there" can be made to work in your favour.
Some examples here: Can you imagine telling an artist to practice moderation in his use of colour? But balance is a beautiful thing in a painting. A moderate dose of love in a marriage would be hardly satisfying, but balance can provide healthy outlets for passion as well as aid longevity of the relationship. On the political end of things, a left-wing or right-wing party in power will push a very one-sided agenda, but when the two parties hold seats in a fairly even balance, the country is usually better served. On the other hand, a whole house of moderate politicians wouldn't get anything done.
I am trying to think of any good examples of moderation:
Eating? moderation is no good unless there is balance - a moderate amount of 100% fat is still bad for you.
Drinking? hmmm. that one might actually work, using moderation would guarantee that you did not become drunk, but very little else.
Working? a moderate worker is one who has no ambition. Show me a farmer who works moderately during harvest time. But throughout all the seasons on a farm...there is balance.
And now just a few words about passion because otherwise this whole thing is just way too negative.
Passion. Excitement. Surrender. Jumping. Dancing. Giving. Sacrifice. Crying. Loving. Running. Gazing. Touching. Laughing. Growing. Thinking. Hearing. Enjoying. Tasting. Moving. Embracing. Meeting. Grasping. Wanting. Dreaming. Looking. Being. Living. Breathing. Yes.
I detest most forms of moderation for they are the antithesis of passion. Moderate people are easy to live with and moderate opinions are easy to accept. There is a certain amount of safety in moderation for you will never come close to excess or abstinence. Lukewarm is another word we can talk about. Neither hot nor cold. Lukewarm water, lukewarm tea, lukewarm beer, lukewarm Coke...ugh!
I used to equate moderation and balance, but a friend set me straight on that inaccurate assumption. I like balance, for it means you can take two extreme items and ultilize them to maintain stability. If you were to mush the opposites together and place the mixture in the middle you would get nothing more than a brownish stew and added dead weight. But if you let the black be black and the white be white, the very position of these two extremes i.e. "waaaay out there" can be made to work in your favour.
Some examples here: Can you imagine telling an artist to practice moderation in his use of colour? But balance is a beautiful thing in a painting. A moderate dose of love in a marriage would be hardly satisfying, but balance can provide healthy outlets for passion as well as aid longevity of the relationship. On the political end of things, a left-wing or right-wing party in power will push a very one-sided agenda, but when the two parties hold seats in a fairly even balance, the country is usually better served. On the other hand, a whole house of moderate politicians wouldn't get anything done.
I am trying to think of any good examples of moderation:
Eating? moderation is no good unless there is balance - a moderate amount of 100% fat is still bad for you.
Drinking? hmmm. that one might actually work, using moderation would guarantee that you did not become drunk, but very little else.
Working? a moderate worker is one who has no ambition. Show me a farmer who works moderately during harvest time. But throughout all the seasons on a farm...there is balance.
And now just a few words about passion because otherwise this whole thing is just way too negative.
Passion. Excitement. Surrender. Jumping. Dancing. Giving. Sacrifice. Crying. Loving. Running. Gazing. Touching. Laughing. Growing. Thinking. Hearing. Enjoying. Tasting. Moving. Embracing. Meeting. Grasping. Wanting. Dreaming. Looking. Being. Living. Breathing. Yes.
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