Balance Part Two

 3) Relationships. The savage truth is that, in relationships, you can have anything you can afford. The coin is passion, health, intelligence, self-respect, and confidence. Men and women get into terrible trouble because they are attracted to people more attractive than themselves, and can’t be honest about it. Women complain that men want beauty, while men complain that women want power.

Get over it. We’re wired up that way genetically, although the specific symbols of beauty and power vary across culture and time. The sooner you stop complaining about this immutable fact, the faster you’ll be able to make decisions about the level of beauty or power you are willing (or able) to manifest in your own life to get what you want.

And no, it isn’t fair. No one said life is fair. But each gender seems to think that the other side has rigged the game to its advantage. In fact, the less successful a man or woman is in this arena, the less likely they are to grasp a central truth: if women were men, they’d behave like men. If men were women, they’d behave like women. Stop finger pointing, and get into the game!

In each of these three arenas, there are painful truths we must face: human beings are wise, and good, and strong, and spiritual. Unfortunately we are also lazy, dishonest, confused, and childishly wish the world would simply recognize our genius and follow our advice. Why should the world, our customers, our audience, our children, listen to us when we cannot communicate honestly with ourselves?

In the creation of fictional characters, often all one has to do is create a flaw in one of these three arenas, and then create a plot situation that will teach the character a lesson they need to heal. In the world of advertising, almost all products are sold with an appeal to one of these three areas: sex, power, or health. Fail to understand how human beings are driven by these needs: or how almost EVERYONE fails to balance in all three of them, and you will miss a primary motivation in human history. If we cannot understand or effectively communicate with our own psyches. What hope have we to effectively understand one another?

Mastery is a road, not a location. We needn’t be millionaires with bodybuilder physiques married to movie stars with in order to progress toward clarity and power. But we must take responsibility. We must admit that we want health, and happiness, and love. And move with both discipline and joy toward a future we can cherish. What we learn along that road is the Truth of what we are. And the truth will set you free.