Up: [[Tension of Opposites]] Created: 2022-05-30 ### Balance is Illusory > [!Orbit] Gary Keller in *The One Thing* > When the ballerina poses en pointe, she can appear weightless, floating on air, the very idea of balance and grace. A closer look would reveal her toe shoes vibrating rapidly, making minute adjustments for balance. Counterbalancing done well gives the illusion of balance. This quote reminds me of a statement made decades ago when I was doing an additional teaching qualification in London, England. The instructor said that there was no such thing as a balanced book; that to read such a book would be completely boring. Our responsibility as educators, he said, was to make sure our children had access to a balanced book**shelf**. Jung’s concept of [[Tension of Opposites]] is similar to the balancing ballerina in that both are working to hold the tension. It’s different in that Jung isn’t concerned with balance. His interest is in the third way, the [[Transcendent Function]] that emerges when the tension is held long enough. ### Balance is Boring > [!Orbit] [[David Whyte]] in *The Three Marriages: Reimagining work, self and relationships* > Poets have never used the word **balance** for good reason. First of all, it is too obvious and therefore untrustworthy; it is also a deadly boring concept and seems to speak as much to being stuck and immovable, as to harmony. There is also the sense of unbalancing that must take place in order to push a person into a new and larger set of circumstances. (p. 5) It’s so true that deep personal change requires unbalancing. This relates to Jung’s contention that analysis is useless unless there’s active conflict as experienced through a [[Tension of Opposites]].