| Guitars
are nothing without their strings, although at times some guitars might be
better off without them. But in the hands of a good player, a tuned guitar
can be a thing of joy. Of course, there is
an art to getting the guitar strings in tune. If they are too loose, all
you get is a dull "thunk." If they are too tight, they may snap at the
touch of a finger.
So the trick is to regulate the tension of the
strings between the two extremes.
Perhaps there is something for us to learn from
the way the guitar stays in tune.
We survive better if we can avoid extremes.
Otherwise we get out of tune with ourselves and with others. Extremes are
destructive, as we many well know from our own lives.
Life is full of polarities: naive optimism and
melancholy pessimism; addiction to activity and addiction to sloth; exaggerated
emotions and deadness of feeling; constant change and no change at all.
You can add your own polarities to the list.
If you cannot find your balance between them,
your life may be somewhat like an out-of-tune guitar.
If there is no sparkle or resilience in your
life, check to see if your polarities are balanced and in tune. |
