A Question of Balance
Love...
True Love...
Company...Companionship...Friendship...
The Nature of Love...
True Love...
To Have It...To Make It...To Receive It...To Give It...
To Share It...Exchange It...
Love...
True Love...
"Whadda ya writin' there Doc?" asked Eddy."Oh, it's part of a little project I'm beginning," said Doc."What's it about?" asked Marti, a girl with great instinct."Something I bet you'd be interested in," smiled Doc. "Really," Susan's eyes brightened, "what does it say!""As matter of fact," said Doc, "what I'm writing about here is something you're all very interested in, at one time or another, sometimes more than others. But, you're all interested in it, all the time really, whether you know it right now or not." "Ok, so what's it about?" pressed Eddy, obviously curious but acting disinterested. Doc handed Eddy the slip of paper he was writing on."Ah Doc," groaned Eddy, "You're gettin' all sappy on us."Doc laughed as the rest of the kids rushed to see what was written on it. As hands started grabbing for the slip of paper, Marti volunteered to read it aloud, at which point, Eddy handed it over to her, too embarrassed, or cool, to read it himself. All got settled and turned their attention to Marti.After Marti's reading, there was a sigh and a groan here and there, but otherwise it seemed no one knew what to think."Yep, sappy," agreed Pete with Eddy."Must be a romance novel," said Susan."Sounds like the heart of a philosophy to me," said Miles."Love's the reason we're all here, " said Marti."That's deep," said Bill."Not really," said Carol.Doc suddenly ended the brewing discussion and said, "Let's set this one aside for now and get back to last week's demonstration. You remember the double-pan balance I showed you. And the onions, which I didn't get around to explaining.""Yeah, what are the onions about Doc?" "We'll get to that later Pete," said Doc. "But for now, remember last week I told you that druggists use balances like this to compare masses and determine the weights of things.""Yeah," said Miles, "You put a mass of known weight on one side, like that one ounce metal cylinder you showed us. Then on the other side you put whatever it is you want to weigh, say peanuts for instance. When the two pans are level, they are in balance, which says you have one ounce of peanuts.""Sounds simple enough," said Eddy. "So what's the big lesson Doc?""Well, by using this balance we can determine values," said Doc. "Such as, how many ounces is a bagful of peanuts. But besides ounces and pounds and grams and kilograms, the balance can help us determine other values as well." "Whadda ya mean?" asked Bill."Last week we started talking about rebels and outlaws and criminals and heroes," said Doc. "By the end of our discussion we found it's often difficult to tell one from another. We know that many great men through the ages, like Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, and women, such as Joan of Arc and Harriet Tubman, were initially considered rebels, outlaws and criminals. In the old days rebels were called heretics, yet sometime later, with the benefit of retrospect, these same people are considered heroes. On the flipside, a number of people may initially be seen as the greatest of heroes, and then later recognized the greatest of criminals---Hitler is a recent example, but there a many others in history to consider. So what's the difference between a hero and a criminal? Is it only history that allows us to tell one from another? Do the values of a culture and society determine who is a hero and who is a criminal? Or is there a universal standard that marks the character of a hero or heroine?""That's a lot to lay on us Doc," cried Pete. "Can't you break it down a bit?""I agree Pete," said Doc sympathetically, "it is a lot to take in. I don't expect ready answers here. Just questions to consider. Now let's get back to the balance. Would you all agree that a major characteristic of the hero or heroine is courage?"All heads nodded in agreement."Ok, so what other characteristics does a hero or heroine have?" asked Doc."Strength!" exclaimed Eddy."Compassion," said Susan."Wisdom," said Miles."Independence," said Bill."A sense of right and wrong," said Carol."Honesty and integrity," said Pete. After this rapid-fire of answers there was a long pause. Then Marti calmly said, "Love.""Good," said Doc. "All these---courage, strength, compassion, wisdom, independence, a sense of right and wrong, honesty, integrity, love...and any number of others we didn't mention---are good characteristics of heroes and heroines. And in a sense these characteristics are values. And as values they carry a certain weight of importance in our lives. Now, the kind of life we lead and how successful we are, might depend on how much weight we place on certain values as compared to others.""Getting deep again Doc," said Eddy."I think I follow you Doc," said Miles. "I've thought a lot about the value I place in science versus the value my parents place in religion. In other words, the value of direct observation and testing versus the value of faith and belief in something sight unseen.""Good one Miles," said Doc. "The difference between direct observation and belief in something sight-unseen may be extreme. The value of science versus that of religion, or let's say direct experience versus faith, may even seem incompatible. But this is not necessarily so. Let's put these two values on the balance and see what happens. Imagine how the scales would tip if you had too much of one value and not enough of the other. When life throws us a curve, sometimes faith in higher purpose is all we have. And yet neither can we deny the necessity and benefit of direct observation and experience. Science and faith may seem opposite, and yet one does not necessarily exclude the other. In fact they may be correlates of existence, two opposites that when in balance, promote success."That's heavy," said Pete."Not necessarily," said Marti."Ok," grinned Doc. "with that example in mind, what other values might we put on the balance?""How 'bout genius and common sense," said Eddy."Or intelligence and intuition?" said Carol."Love and compassion...or love and wisdom," said Marti, in her typically full-hearted manner. "Or how about love and togetherness...letting go and holding on." said Marti,"Commitment and freedom," said Bill"Or freedom and responsibility," said Carol."How about a great leader or hero on one side of the scales, and a simple, decent human being on the other?" said Susan."Very good," said Doc, "That reminds me of a piece I once wrote. It was called The Guru Right Beside You. Anyway, as you can see, we can put any values on the scales we wish, and then "see" how they balance out, or not.""So what's the point?" asked Eddy. "Is there some sorta secret or truth you're gettin' at here?""It's just something to play around with," said Doc. "Consider it an exercise to work your mind, a way to stretch, loosen and strengthen your thinking. Don't worry about right and wrong necessarily, or finding some final answer. Just try putting some values on the scales. Pick two values you would normally consider as incompatible opposites and put them on each side of the balance. Then use your imagination, watch what happens when the scales tip to the extreme of either side. What happens if you have all freedom and no committment? How 'bout the other way around?""Maybe I'm committed to freedom," said Pete, going for a laugh."That's good," said Doc, "So now put freedom and responsibility on the scales. What if you have all freedom and no responsibility? How 'bout all responsibility and no freedom?""Instead of being opposites that exclude each other," said Susan, "it seems these values must by virtue go together.""An answer to the question of balance perhaps," Doc smiled. "Until next time, exercise your balance and balance your exercise. And don't forget your extra-credit assignment!"Ding.
