HEALING

Fire cools.

Water seeks its own level.

No matter how extreme a situation is, it will change. It cannot

continue forever. Thus, a great forest fire is always destined to burn

itself out; a turbulent sea will become calmer. Natural events balance

themselves out by seeking their opposites, and this process of balance

is at the heart of all healing.

This process takes time. If an event is not great, the balancing

required is slight. If it is momentous, then it may take days, years,

even lifetimes for things to return to an even keel. Actually, without

these slight imbalances, there could be no movement in life. It is being

off balance that keeps life changing. Total centering, total balance

would only be stasis. All life is continual destruction and healing,

over and over again.

That is why, even in the midst of an extreme situation, the wise are

patient. Whether the situation is illness, calamity, or their own anger,

they know that healing will follow upheaval.