If we eat too much, we can get fat and become vulnerable to so many diseases that are waiting to do their dirty work with us. If we don’t eat enough of them, we will suffer the consequences of malnutrition. Overeating and not eating enough are extreme. They do not help us to live life fully. Either way we pay the price of going extreme. The only sensible and healthy way is to eat moderately, enough to maintain our body but not too much to cause problems.
There are some people who are fanatically religious. They become blind to other things besides what they think with reality and cause numerous problems for the rest of us. Their attitude of excessive justice towards life makes them see things in only two ways: good or bad. They become a prison of their beliefs and the rest of us are condemned for disagreeing with them.
Just at the opposite extreme are ungodly people without a thread of conscience in their hearts. They are more like animals that give in to all your desires and lusts. They say and do things that show no respect or concern for other people. All they want is the satisfaction of their wishes, regardless of the consequences.
Religious fanaticism or impiety are extremes that will only bring pain to those who are involved with them. Both require the taking of one side to completely avoid the opposite. The result is an imbalance that can only bring disaster.
A person who wishes to remain lucid will not indulge in either of these extremes. He does not want to blind your eyes with religious fury or inflame your heart with uncontrolled passion. He is a moderate person who lives his life kindly, letting his conscience be his guide. Then his life goes smoothly and calmly.
Everything in this world has its opposite. This is an unavoidable fact of life. We know that something is hot only in relation to something cold. A person is tall only compared to a poorer person. Freedom only makes sense when we experience the shackles of restriction. We value our health because we know that we are capable of getting sick.
Society has a predilection for youth. So, at their extreme, everyone tries to stay young. Cosmetics are sold in large quantities. Boys and girls dress up in all kinds of atrocities that they believe make them young and desirable. Middle-aged men and women also indulge in the same game. But nature gets away with it. People are getting old at the moment. Old men fight a losing battle with time. Finally, when old age comes, sit sadly alone in old people’s homes or stately mansions with no one but a servant. The desirable end of trying to stay young will result in the unhappy end of getting old. If, in the first place, we are moderate with our life, without identifying with youth or old age, then it will not matter at all whether we are young or old. We can live in peace with ourselves. We let nature take its course painlessly, gently.
The same goes for other areas of life. A person who is too rich is afraid of losing his wealth. A person living in extreme poverty is eager to know where his next meal will come from. He is a prisoner of fear. A moderate person who simply works for a living is not afraid of losing his wealth and does not worry about his next meal. Moderation takes it smoothly.
Those who exercise excessively will burn out. Those who remain calm all day suffer from atrophy. A boy who studies all the time has no friends. Another who only makes friends fails his exams. Staying too long in the sun can lead to heat stroke and sunburn. Not going out at all makes the skin pale and pale. Driving too fast on a motorcycle can lead to an accident. Not moving at all also means that you cannot balance on the motorcycle. Sharpening it will render the knife useless. Being extreme is always the cause of pain.
Moderation, then, is the key to life. It is the way we live our lives as they are supposed to be lived.
