It is the time of year for resolutions when we resolve to change something or do something differently. In music, resolution means to resolve a discordant sound into a concordant sound. It is a good metaphor for why we seek to make resolutions—to change something discordant in our lives into something more harmonious.When we are out of balance it creates discord in our lives. We feel the effects in symptomatic responses of fatigue, stress, unhappiness, and discontent. This discomfort creates a desire to bring things back into balance with the hope of restoring vitality and a sense of wholeness into our lives.
We were created with two opposite polarities—masculine and feminine. In Jungian psychology these are referred to as the anima and the animus. You can also think of them as solar and lunar energies—one active, the other passive. One is hot—the other cold. One is like fire the other is like water.
Vitality, harmony, concordance, and balance are created when these polarities are balanced within us. The same principle is not only true as individuals; it is also true in societies, governments, and throughout the whole universe. When these are out of balance, we experience dis-ease.
Most of our resolutions to restore balance can be understood by examining these principles. For instance, we resolve to start a new diet. We are going to pay more attention to the fitness of our body. We have overdone the action (solar) of eating and have also overdone the feminine/lunar repose reflected in our inactivity. What we have created is discord and imbalance.
This is true of all of our many addictions, whether they are chemical, work, sexual, or consumer related (also known as a shopping addiction). We are out of balance in either our acting (masculine) or in our inaction (feminine).
This has implications on our spiritual path as well. When we become too busy doing good things and forget to spend a balancing amount of time in the quietness of prayer and meditation—time spent with Spirit—we end up with a powerless form of spirituality.
We can also create an imbalance if the life is spent in quiet devotion to God, but is never given back in service to others. We back up our spiritual channels, which are meant to flow out into the world in the form of light. Either way, we become spiritual cripples.
As you take inventory of your life this New Year, reflect on the polarities of doing and repose and see where you might bring back harmony and balance in your life. If you find that your spiritual journey has no power—it has not changed your life—then consider that you must work in cooperation with the Christ power to have a transformed life.
We cannot do the work ourselves, nor can we sit back and let God do everything. We must work in harmony with the Divine to bring balance into our lives. When we do this, beautiful music is created that goes out into the world as a blessing to others.
What kind of song are you singing today? If it is not one of beauty, contemplate on what needs to resolve in order to make a more melodious one. It gives new meaning to the familiar text, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord!” It is a matter of balance. We must be consistently filled with the light of God’s Spirit. We can then do something meaningful in the world.
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