It snowed, off and on, all day. I missed getting a really interesting photo this afternoon – it was snowing, but there was a batch of blue, unclouded sky over a part of the east side of the valley. Maybe next time.

Work was rather uneventful.

Today’s Quote of the Day comes from Dee:

    I know there’s a God. He put that on Earth.
    I know there’s a Satan… because I can’t have it!

I got the following from here.

The T’ai Chi Chu symbol, or Yin-Yang symbol, has its roots in ancient Chinese cosmology. The original meaning of “yin and yang” is representative of the mountains–both the dark side and the bright side, or the contrasting shaded and sunlight slopes of the mountain. The “Yin” represents the female or the shaded aspect, the earth, darkness, the moon, and passivity. The “Yang” represents the male, light, sun, heaven, the active principle in nature.

In addition, this symbol shows the perfect balance between opposites, or the great forces of the universe. This portrays that there is no “real” masculine or feminine nature, but that each contains a part of the other. The two are contained in one circle thus showing that both powers are in one cycle. Instead of these two being held in antagonism, they are held together to show the that they are mutually interdependent partners. One cannot exist without the other.

“Today, the yin-yang symbolizes the dynamic balance of our lives in the world. In this we are to balance and harmonize, not only with ourselves and others, but also with the universe–balancing the active yin with the contemplative yang (Drehler, 1990). As we begin to find balance in our lives, we become more whole, more complete, and more at peace with ourselves.

To summarize, the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 42 states:

The Tao is the One,
From the One come yin and yang;
From these two, creative energy;
From energy, ten thousand things;
The forms of all creation.

All life embodies the yin
And embraces yang,
Through their union
Achieving harmony.

I was feeling a bit… out of balance earlier this evening. I can’t put my finger on the exact reason(s) “why,” but I know that there was something was “off.” And the imbalance wasn’t extreme; it was just enough for me to realize that I was irritable… and for no discernable reason. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything that an hour’s relaxation and semi-meditative escape couldn’t counteract.

“Like a righteous inspiration
Overlooked in haste…
Like a teardrop in the ocean,
A diamond in the waste.”
-excerpted from “Grand Designs” (Rush – “Power Windows,” 1984)

Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day grind that we neglect some of the more “mundane” things – like making sure that we are in balance and at peace not only with the world around us but with ourselves. It seems that this concept should be elementary, but it gets lost in the chaos stream of things that we call “Life.”

Just a little something to think about.

Peace.