Existence consistently follows a cycle, a constant striving to venture into the unknown. This pattern is in everything but shows itself quite evidently when looking at life, and humans specifically. It’s what drives all life forward and can just as easily be what brings it to its end. All different methods of knowledge enter a realm of trying to find a balance between the known and unknown.
Everything that existence seems to follow comes down to this balancing act, expressing itself in different ways depending on the creature or “thing”. Our human ancestors for example. There would come times of having to choose between staying put or going out into something undiscovered. Staying put could be what brings the species to its end, whether it be changing weather conditions or a new predator around. But going out, finding a new place, carries a limitless list of new problems. The difference being, we don’t know the problems of the unknown. Which inevitably makes this jump into the unknown foundational to the human experience.
Seen through all myths, stories, fables and fantasies is this cycle. Something called “The Hero’s Journey” (by Joseph Campbell) perfectly explains it. It’s a general storyline seen in all different myths through human history. Someone decides, through whatever means(varies from story to story) to go into the unknown, they then have to overcome a series of tasks, meeting people who help or hinder. Ending with the “hero” bringing a new status quo or “elixir” to humanity after they come back.
Everything that existence seems to follow comes down to this balancing act, expressing itself in different ways depending on the creature or “thing”. Our human ancestors for example. There would come times of having to choose between staying put or going out into something undiscovered. Staying put could be what brings the species to its end, whether it be changing weather conditions or a new predator around. But going out, finding a new place, carries a limitless list of new problems. The difference being, we don’t know the problems of the unknown. Which inevitably makes this jump into the unknown foundational to the human experience.
Seen through all myths, stories, fables and fantasies is this cycle. Something called “The Hero’s Journey” (by Joseph Campbell) perfectly explains it. It’s a general storyline seen in all different myths through human history. Someone decides, through whatever means(varies from story to story) to go into the unknown, they then have to overcome a series of tasks, meeting people who help or hinder. Ending with the “hero” bringing a new status quo or “elixir” to humanity after they come back.
These stories aren’t only seen in old myth, but can easily be found in new movies, books, and your own life. Because of this idea, this “pattern” is something that’s apart of us. That has pretty much determined our survival as explained before.
From this, comes a constant striving to make a structure that secures us, stops us from pushing forth into the unknown. Whether it be society itself or the many different religions that have come to be. It’s the human attempt to secure our selves in the universe. To make a set of rules and ideas that are universally right. To stop this venture, because of safety, because of what may lie ahead, it can be good, but most importantly from this perspective, what may be bad.
The attitude of “order and control” is male when broken down. You’ve heard it before. Males represent order, females represent chaos or freedom. Both just as important as one another, and both need each other for a balance. This also explains the new(and old), especially western, feminist movements, obviously blown quite out of proportion, but it’s based on this idea. The criticism of the big evil “patriarchy”. Men seek an order for safety, but oftentimes the balance between order and freedom(or chaos) become disproportionate. Not stemming from ill intent, but usually, just the human male instinct to want to protect the people from outside danger, from the unknown. There are obviously outliers. Like when there’s a lust for power, even then, these still originally stem from a desire to protect(you need the power of the people to protect them). To compare it to the tribal/ancestral days again. Men played this same role. Trying to protect the people from outside danger. The society we see today is just an extension of these older times, at least for the time being. There’s a constant balancing in society of our systems of order. To keep it free but also under control to maintain safety. Existence, or even the human species itself, has always been in a constant pendulum swing from chaos to order, or order to chaos(which one comes first?).
It could be viewed as a constant tug of war between males and females, but a step further, it’s just the battle between order and freedom. Going way deeper and much more intrinsic to existence than just gender differences.
So how can this balance be found? Is it even possible?
Well, to come to this point and to ask these questions is already repeating what was previously mentioned. Trying to find security, in an ultimately “insecure” universe. Making rules, or coming up with an answer that’s supposed to be universally true and unchanging. This partly answers the question. Our striving and constant desire for some secure, never changing system, is exactly what creates an insecure system. So could it be that if we stopped trying so hard to find this balance, it would create the balance we so desperately desire?
Maybe on some level, but ultimately no, because that’s just another answer, another repeat. We would simply be trying not to try, hence still trying, creating the same imbalance.
The truth of the matter is the balance is already here. The tug of war we live in is a perfect balance (or imbalance depending on your perspective) already. And all attempts to make it more of something or less of something else is exactly what’s supposed to be happening.
“The world is absolutely perfect, including your own dissatisfaction with it, and everything you are trying to do to change it” (Stanislav Grof, The Holotropic Mind: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives)
... or maybe this is just another rule or idea constricting us to the things that are not yet possible?
From this, comes a constant striving to make a structure that secures us, stops us from pushing forth into the unknown. Whether it be society itself or the many different religions that have come to be. It’s the human attempt to secure our selves in the universe. To make a set of rules and ideas that are universally right. To stop this venture, because of safety, because of what may lie ahead, it can be good, but most importantly from this perspective, what may be bad.
The attitude of “order and control” is male when broken down. You’ve heard it before. Males represent order, females represent chaos or freedom. Both just as important as one another, and both need each other for a balance. This also explains the new(and old), especially western, feminist movements, obviously blown quite out of proportion, but it’s based on this idea. The criticism of the big evil “patriarchy”. Men seek an order for safety, but oftentimes the balance between order and freedom(or chaos) become disproportionate. Not stemming from ill intent, but usually, just the human male instinct to want to protect the people from outside danger, from the unknown. There are obviously outliers. Like when there’s a lust for power, even then, these still originally stem from a desire to protect(you need the power of the people to protect them). To compare it to the tribal/ancestral days again. Men played this same role. Trying to protect the people from outside danger. The society we see today is just an extension of these older times, at least for the time being. There’s a constant balancing in society of our systems of order. To keep it free but also under control to maintain safety. Existence, or even the human species itself, has always been in a constant pendulum swing from chaos to order, or order to chaos(which one comes first?).
It could be viewed as a constant tug of war between males and females, but a step further, it’s just the battle between order and freedom. Going way deeper and much more intrinsic to existence than just gender differences.
So how can this balance be found? Is it even possible?
Well, to come to this point and to ask these questions is already repeating what was previously mentioned. Trying to find security, in an ultimately “insecure” universe. Making rules, or coming up with an answer that’s supposed to be universally true and unchanging. This partly answers the question. Our striving and constant desire for some secure, never changing system, is exactly what creates an insecure system. So could it be that if we stopped trying so hard to find this balance, it would create the balance we so desperately desire?
Maybe on some level, but ultimately no, because that’s just another answer, another repeat. We would simply be trying not to try, hence still trying, creating the same imbalance.
The truth of the matter is the balance is already here. The tug of war we live in is a perfect balance (or imbalance depending on your perspective) already. And all attempts to make it more of something or less of something else is exactly what’s supposed to be happening.
“The world is absolutely perfect, including your own dissatisfaction with it, and everything you are trying to do to change it” (Stanislav Grof, The Holotropic Mind: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives)
... or maybe this is just another rule or idea constricting us to the things that are not yet possible?
