How to use the yin-yang concept to address adverse events and develop ourselves as humans
Definition
“Yinyang, in Eastern thought, [designates] the two complementary forces that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. Yin is a symbol of earth, femaleness, darkness, passivity, and absorption. It is present in even numbers, in valleys and streams, and is represented by the tiger, the color orange, and a broken line. Yang is conceived of as heaven, maleness, light, activity, and penetration. It is present in odd numbers, in mountains, and is represented by the dragon, the color azure, and an unbroken line. The two are both said to proceed from the Great Ultimate (taiji), their interplay on one another (as one increases the other decreases) being a description of the actual process of the universe and all that is in it. In harmony, the two are depicted as the light and dark halves of a circle.”
Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Aug. 2024
According to Chinese philosophy, yin and yang represent the two aspects of nature as we may perceive it, present in everything, in any combination, and in the whole. It is a framework that helps to understand nature, even though it may at times seem abstract. So, please take it lightly (in fact, it must be taken lightly!), but be open to it, and consider using it. Because if you do, you will likely be amazed by how helpful it can be in guiding your life, your personal development, and that of the organizations you lead. Everything, really.
Some Examples of Yin and Yang Pairs
In the list below, the yin value is listed first, followed by the yang value.
Feminine — Masculine
Mother — Father
Below — Above
Magnetic — Electric
Matter — Spirit (energy)
Particle — Wave
Earth — Air, Sky
Receiving — Giving
Dark — Light
Inner — Outer
Water — Fire
Moon — Sun
Silver — Gold
Absorbing — Penetrating
Black — White
Resting — Doing
Silence — Noise
Cold — Hot
Soft — Hard
Quality — Quantity
Yin and Yang Are Temporary, not Fixed
If I suggest taking the concept “lightly,” it is because, precisely, the yin-yang wisdom itself defines these two poles as never fixed, but dancing with each other in cyclical ways. Yin and yang are not absolutes or in fixed locations. They are in a relative position to one another and cannot exist separately, without each other. If there’s a father, then there’s a mother. If there’s day, then there’s night, East and West, etc. Imagine a slice of bread with its two sides. Now imagine that you slice that slice again into two new, thinner slices. Well, each new slice will still have two sides. In fact, one side implies the other. The sun emits light, and Earth and the moon are lit.
Yin and yang move, and so does our perception. Consider above and below. Something which is above another thing can also be, at the same time, below yet a third thing. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we are led. Most of the time, we experience both aspects, although we may focus on only one aspect at a time.
So, it’s not so much, or only, about the object moving positions, as it is about how we see the object and the position we (the observer) are in. There’s a yin-yang relationship as well between the observer and the observed. Einstein would probably explain the science behind all this in his study of relativity (but I won’t). Quantum physicists also have much to say about how particles may become waves and vice versa (check them out). I merely noticed the consistent yin-yang dance of everything in my life experience. I also noticed that trying to stay fixed in one position, preventing flow, creates disease. I invite you to do the same.
Not only are these positions not fixed in time and space, but they also contain each other, as the Tai Chi symbol suggests — a white dot on the black side of the circle, and a black dot on the white side. This becomes obvious when we understand the logic of yin and yang: both are in everything, including in themselves. For example, the south-facing mountainside receives more light overall, but can be dark at times. The north-facing side still receives some light and may get more light than the south-facing side at times. The moon (yin) is lit by the sun (yang), yet in turn reflects the light outward (yang). All human beings harbor both yin and yang aspects, regardless of their body shapes. Famous Swiss psychiatrist and therapist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) wrote about the animus (yang, or masculine) and anima (yin, or feminine) in the human psyche, and their role in our well-being and development. A person can project a mostly yang behavior at certain times, for example, when managing and directing others, but not at all times. A person can project a mostly yin behavior when holding a baby, but not at all times.
Yin-Yang and Sustainable Development
Often, we only see one aspect, either yang or yin. Here are some examples.
Internal and External Reality
Most sustainability professionals, amplified by the media, speak about climate, animal species, or other natural things occurring outside of and around humans. They often use the term “environment.” And they want to change those external things. These professionals seem to completely forget that they themselves are part of nature, completely immersed in it, and that they contribute to causing what they see as external. It is quite ironic that many of them lament the ‘externalities’ of our economic system — which they say we need to “internalize” — when, in fact, the main externality in their system (their awareness) is the human “internality,” that is, what happens inside human minds and bodies. When applying the yin-yang framework to make sense of these behaviors, we see that most sustainability professionals dominantly see the yang (external) aspects of the world, and seldom its Yin (internal) aspects, if at all. They would make considerable progress and would solve more problems much faster if they became conscious of how their inner experience creates their outer experience.
Above and Below, Sky and Earth
Let me give you another example: the sustainability discourse is currently dominated by the climate deregulation issue. Of course, climate matters to humans, but so does everything else, particularly human health and what happens closer to the ground, here on Earth. In the (terrible) expression, “decarbonize the economy,” one can see that the focus on removing something from the atmosphere has even leaked into the economic discourse, in quite an indigestible way. Climate is a dominantly yang value (above, air, sky, heaven), relative to humans. Here again, we can observe a clear over-focus on a yang value and a clear underestimation (to say the least) of yin values (earth, water, soil, matter, women, children, humans themselves, etc., which are all “below”).
Math and Art, Thought and Sense, Models (of Reality) and Reality (Itself)
Here’s another example: our over-focus on words and numbers (yang), and our virtual blindness to feelings and senses (yin). Do we really think that nature is like a computer, and we can manage all its components to fall into some arrangement that will be convenient for us? Models help. They are part of nature (as what they are: models), but they are not nature (as the lived experience they represent) itself, which is more complex and involves sensing. The drawing of a table is not the table. In fact, when we understand better nature’s laws, we learn to trust that nature will “do its thing, naturally,” with the necessary and sufficient intervention from us, humans. Sustainability professionals tend to vastly overwork. But the acorn becomes an oak without our doing. So, as part of nature, let’s do our thing strictly, not some other entity’s job. We can only fail at what is not ours to do.
The Problem: Fixating Natural Things in Yang Positions, thus Forcing Yin Things to also Be Fixed
Many sustainability professionals (most of them, based on my experience of over 40 years) are quite assertive (yang value). They think they are right (yang value). And they talk and talk forever, trying to “convince” others. Oh my! So many words! You guessed it: yang again. What if they tried silence and questions instead of noise and answers?
Can you see a pattern forming here? If we apply the yin-yang framework to what’s happening in our lives and in the world today, we will very quickly realize that we are not only vastly over-focused on yang values but also fixated on them. Too many climate folks are literally obsessed with climate, and want all of us to be obsessed with the same obsession. We are clinging to yang values as if we feared something terrible would happen if we did not. What are we fearing?
Conversely, we are not just underestimating yin values; we are neglecting, belittling, abusing, and harming them, which is self-destructive, because we are, ourselves, both yin and yang too. Matter is a dominantly yin value. We are abusing matter, and we are clinging, gripping to the abuse. And note that the words “matter” and “mother” share the same root. We are abusing and violating the Mother of all things.
We Must Stop Gripping Immediately!
There is no “bottom” (yin) to how evil humans can be, in the same way as there is no “ceiling”, or upper limit (yang), to how good we can be. Gripping onto one’s (ego-centric) perspective, as if it were an absolute truth, is evil. We, the human species, will surely disappear from creation if we persist in fixating on what must flow. Be on guard, for example, with anyone who pretends to be part of a “best in the world” kind of club, in a permanent way. We all know some of those people. Well, no one is on a pedestal (yang value) except very temporarily and circumstantially, for example, when winning some specific competition. When you are open to coming down from your pedestal, or stopping to see others on pedestals, even at the price of a little (temporary) pain, you will live liberating adventures and successful endeavors.
Every time we cling (over-attach) to our knowledge and insist we are right, we are making a step backwards on our developmental journey.
To develop (sustainably), we must understand the law of chaos and harmony, and know how to go from one to the other. We must melt the tension between the yin and yang poles to solve humanity’s crises. We must dare to see and understand the other side (the other person, the other party, the other perspective), both outside and inside of us. And we must restore our relationship with that other side, with both our sides. We must learn to dance with the other side. We must see the other person as a reflection of the part of ourselves that we may not want to see, and love both sides equally, over time and space.
Start today. Be intentional about seeing yin and yang values and aspects in your daily life and experience. Many simple practices can go a long way to rebalance yin and yang, including Qigong and Tai Chi, dancing, and singing. Here’s a powerful practice: start writing one short sentence a day for a month with your non-dominant hand, and observe what this practice can do for you over time. You’ll be amazed.
The law of polarity (yin and yang) applies in all of nature, including human nature. Let’s flow with both yin and yang. Or we shall surely perish sooner than we’d like.
For more on this topic, you may also read: Sustainability Is about “And.”
Have you uncovered any new yin or yang aspects in your life lately?