Law #9
Harmony
Most of the harmful misconceptions that destroy
our lives are not based on lies, but, rather, on a partial truth which we
magnify until it hides everything else. One may observe that anger can be
harmful, so they seek to remove it entirely from their life. The truth is that
some degree of anger may be justified and useful.
Is faith good or bad? It depends. It’s wise to have faith in God, but it’s also wise sometimes to doubt those who claim to speak for God.
Is it better to take risks or play it safe? Is it better to be an optimist or a
pessimist? An absolute pessimist will never risk anything and thus never
succeed, but an absolute optimist may spend all his money on lottery tickets.
It is good to be forgiving, but it is not good to be a doormat. Hard work is good, but, too much will destroy us. It is good to be tolerant, but does this apply to Nazi’s rounding up Jews?
The answer is that there is a harmony we must seek in all things. Which
instrument should play the loudest in an orchestra? That’s a silly question, of
course. There is not one “right” instrument and one “wrong” instrument. Rather
than seeking to overpower each other, the various instruments need to work
together for the harmony they can only produce when they are balanced just
right. Likewise, in most situations, the wisest course of action lies not with
either extreme, but the precise balance between them. Although it’s easier to
think of different positions as either completely right or completely wrong, in
most there is a degree of truth in each and wisdom involves blending both to
find the perfect harmony.
It’s easy to just accept extremes, it requires less thought and fewer decisions, but, in the long run seeking harmony is best.
