Balance: Aristotle’s Golden Mean

Almost Balanced!

Balance
Ugghhh that’s not it….a little to the left….nooo a little to the right…ahhh that’s perfect! The sweet spot, right in the middle! That is Aristotle’s Golden Mean. Like “Goldee Locks and The Three Bears”, this pourage was TOO hot and that pourage was TOO cold, but she eventually found the one that was juuust right. Sometimes the key in life is finding the right balance, just the right temperature. It might take a little tweak here and a subtle adjustment there, but with enough persistence, you’re bound to find the balanced middle.

Proportion
Many people will arrive at this proportionate state by chance, and before long will move on to an extreme or deficient state. Sure, you may stumble upon it, but to spend more time there you must become intentional and aim for it.

When visiting the extreme side of things you may fall victim to your eagerness and haste. On the other hand when you lack motive and are in a deficient state, you may lay victim to your apathy and laziness. Yet, there’s an unanimous harmony that is found in the balanced middle; not that it’s free from peril or snare, but it does provide a certain amount of security.

Plato once said “If we disregard due proportion by giving anything what is too much for it; too much canvas to a boat, too much nutriment to a body, too much authority to a soul, the consequence is always shipwreck.”

Harmony
Focusing too much in one area creates disharmony and always creates difficulties. For example “Aristotle criticized Spartan policy by critiquing the disproportionate elements of their constitution.” “They trained the men and not the women, they trained for war but not for peace.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_mean_(philosophy)

Your perspective is limited when you lean too much to one side, in the same way it is broadened when you step into a more balanced view. Imagine fear and freedom, each on one side of a See Saw. If you favor one side more than the other, you’ll either be gripped with fear or become completely deluded in freedom. Yet, proportioned, in the center, you maintain a healthy perspective of both, and are better positioned to know at what levels to operate in each state of mind.