Yin and Yang

I have sometimes wondered at the contradiction of things. How can so much hardship be tied with so much joy?

Raising a child involves endless work, constant attention, sleepless nights and exhaustion. But  some of the sublime joys of life are tied to being a parent. Very few things can give you the same sense of joy and satisfaction as seeing your child grow.

Gardening is another example. You spend the whole of spring and summer tending to the garden,weeding, watering the plants, nourishing and protecting them. It involves a lot of time and effort and in most cases simply uneconomical. But the feeling of seeing the bounty of Fall when you reap the fruits of your labor are incomparable.

This is the philosophy of Yin and Yang I learnt. Yin-Yang are two opposite principles of nature that cannot exist without each other. To skip the hardships seeking an easy path means to skip the joys too. Spring only comes when winter is over!!