You know that Taoist symbol you see everywhere? The one that looks like two sperm cuddling. It represents the yin and yang, where two things coexist.
This symbol is commonly used to express the relationship between dynamics like, good and evil, male and female, or even practical and emotional. The idea is the two things need each other to live. And the trick is, inside each sperm is a dot to represent the other. For example, there is some good in evil, and some male inside female (don’t get dirty). Anyway, here is what we’re talking about:
Good and evil
Now the symbol doesn’t represent good and evil accurately because the good sperm should be larger—not the same size. That’s because it’s been proven that good is predominant in nature. You could even say the shape of good is growing because, as living standards improve, it’s contagious. But leave that for now.
Male-female
The male-female diagram is supposed to be fifty-fifty. This new notion that women should one day rule the world is bunk. The better idea is for the two to become equal partners. And I think that’s great.
Now in order to get there you can either stack the Canadian cabinet with 50% women or grow the female dot within men. For example, pretend politicians were required to travel and some women don’t like to fly. Does this mean we’ll never attain parity? Of course not. Women will continue to help men grow their female side until we attain balance. (Which is what’s happening.)
Emotional and practical
In politics, we say the Taoist symbol can be used to show the sides of emotional vs. practical. To illustrate, let’s use an example from a previous article:
Billy recently lost a friend through an accident. He’s taken time off to grieve. After three days, his dad suggests he get back to school. Billy’s mom says just a few more days. Who’s right? It depends. Sometimes kids need to be coddled and sometimes they need a kick in the pants. In the olden days, coddling was attributed to liberals, while the miserable boot-in-the-arse style was characteristic of cons. But any parent can relate. Sometimes you have to be understanding and sometimes you need to be firm.
In political speak, we say “sometimes the carrot, sometimes the stick” or “sometimes the hand, sometimes the fist.” Liberals and cons play each other’s yin and yang in this regard. That’s why both ideologies should be respected. You can also use this symbol to illustrate the relationship between change and staying the same—another matter between parents and politicians.
Summary
They say things go better in threes. A stop light has red, yellow, and green. Green means go, red means stop, and yellow is somewhere in between. It’s cool because it gives you three dimensions. But there is also power in two’s. Now this symbol doesn’t work with all opposites because there isn’t any hot in cold, or short in tall, but it does with many. Order and chaos, work and pleasure, comedy and tragedy, disciple and love, your left foot and your right—okay, maybe we’re getting carried away.
The Taoist message is clear, a number of things need their opposite to survive. And this relationship can be illustrated by drawing two little sperm cuddling, both with great big eyes.