Good or Bad

The above picture, most of you already know what this is. For those of you who are not aware, it is a symbol from Taoism. Don't get me wrong I'm not preaching a religion here but I am trying to get a point across. It depicts two kinds of energy- Yin and Yang. Yin stands for darkness or negative energy whereas Yang stands for light and positive energy. It symbolizes a perfect union between light and dark. The best part comes when you notice the little dots belonging to the opposite energy. Interpretation is pretty simple, in dark there is light and in light there is dark. 

One thing that we all agree on is the fact that good and bad can't exists without the other. If there was no bad then there would have been no way to define the good. Similarly, if there was no good then bad would not have existed either. The point is each of us carry seeds of both. When the need arises we switch between them yet we often find ourselves being partial towards one of them. 

Coming back to the topic, when I say good or bad, what comes to your mind, Good things/Bad things ? or perhaps a Good person/Bad person? Who decides what's good or what's bad ? Did we decide for ourselves? or Did we simply believed a notion taught to us?  Let's dig a little deep into it.

How do you define good things or bad things in life? Now some of you might give me different definitions of success or achieving something and frame it as a good thing. The real question is, Is it really a good thing though? We often compare our life to others and find ourselves muttering, "You know the grass is greener on the other side!" and that ends up telling us what we have is not a good thing. Not to mention society's own set of "rules and regulations" telling us what is good and what is bad. Next up is the most infamous question- why bad things happen to good people? Let me tell you one thing that I've learned, there is no such thing as a good thing or bad thing. Things just happen to us and we impose our own ideas of good and bad onto it and that mostly comes from comparisons and fear of being left out. Don't you think it's highly unreliable? 

Most of you would say, "I've lost someone special", "I've lost a great opportunity", "I've lost one of my prized processions", how is it a good thing or how can you say it's not a bad thing. Well, we all now the fact that one day or the other death is coming for all of us, sooner of later and still we mourn and pity the dead. If you know that we have limited time then why wait until the very last moments of their life to thank them or apologize to them why not do it right now. No better time than the present right? Next up is for the people who have lost opportunities like jobs, business deals and so on. Sometimes we don't realize that what we think is good for us might've turned a horrible curse. What is coming next might be even better than what you were going to get and even if it takes a really long time you can always treat it as an opportunity to learn and be better at it. I know these kind of things generally wreck a person but trust me keep at it, you'll get there one day. For the people who have lost something valuable, a quick reminder you do not own a single grain of sand. You can only rent it for a short period of time and then after you die, it is probably going to get passed on to someone else. You can't even take your own body with you after death, imagine all that you would leave behind. When you entered this world you came empty handed and when you'll leave, you will go back empty handed. 

Now what about a person being good or bad? Can a person be completely evil or saintly ? Before we go about deciding who is a good person and who is bad let's turn inwards for a while. Who do you think you are? If your answer is good then I hate to break it to you- you are not. I know most of you would think she didn't even meet us how can she tell this about me. You are just pretending to be good, there could be a million reasons for it, maybe you want people to rely on you, notice you or accept you or perhaps you want something from someone. A good deed comes from selflessness and ends up at humbleness. Coming to the fact about judging others as good or bad, does them being good or bad affect you? if yes then can you do something about it? yes then tell them, if no then just leave them be they'll understand eventually. 

With this I conclude, The only difference between a happy man and an unhappy one is not money, love or pleasure, it is perspective. One thing that is permanent in this world is change. Neither the happy times nor the sad stays, they change, period. It is up to you now how you let your circumstances control you. 

-Radha