Moderation – The Key to Liberation

Extremism rules the world today. Everything is taken in absolute terms. There is no in-between position. It is either this or that; not maybe or somehow. Perhaps it is due to us living in a highly competitive world that we have no time to appreciate the true beauty of life. The experts who are supposed to teach us the ways of moderation are often the ones who are unable to exercise it. Like a wise man once observed, it is not unusual to hear of a doctor grappling with alcoholism or a marriage counsellor getting divorced. While it is an indisputable fact that we need moderation in all we do, it is also true that moderation is a subject that is easier discussed than practised.

Ambition

We can blame it on the rat race or rising cost of living but our generation is highly ambitious. People have become go-getters. They can do anything to achieve their lofty goals. The unfortunate aspect of ambition is the level of compromise it forces one to make. Some of the sacrifices that are made on the altar of ambition include morals, ethics, and quality time spent with family and friends. Ambition is good in that it is what has led to most innovations and achievements in life. If it is not pursued with moderation however, its negative effects can make it counter-productive.

Self Control

The true embodiment of moderation is self control. A person with self control is one of nature’s most beautiful sights. It is however not a straight-forward or easy thing to attain. It first takes a deep desire to have it, coupled with patience, and followed by relentless practice. Once it takes root in one’s character, nothing can remove it and it becomes evident in every word and action.

Good Health

The population is divided into roughly two groups. One group is reckless with its state of health. The members of this group include gluttons, alcoholics, anorexics, bulimics, and couch potatoes. People in this group are busy trying to see how far they can push their bodies in the direction opposite to that of good health. The other group is made up of health freaks. These are the people who ardently read every article on health be it in mainstream or social media. They go further than just read or watch health documentaries. They also try to practice all that they glean from those sources. This is a group that is perpetually on some new ‘effective’ diet or fitness routine.

Good health however, can only be found at some middle point between the two extremes. It is about enjoying the good things in life while taking care not to overindulge in either one way or the other.

Laughter

Lately, I have been encountering a lot of grumpy people. They might as well be robots judging by the way they cannot find humour in the funniest jokes. These are the people who take life too seriously and take offence when people laugh in their presence. I think they lead extremely tough lives and I don’t envy them at all. On the opposite end of the laughter scale are those people who think everything in life is a big joke. These ones are not averse to a practical joke irrespective of the inconvenience or even risk it can cause on their subject. To these practical jokers, April fool’s day should have been a public holiday. I believe laughter and humour should be enjoyed in moderation and good-naturedness.

Up tightness

Perfectionists used to be a rare species of people but not anymore. There are now probably more perfectionists per square kilometre than there were a few decades ago. These are the people who can spend hours arguing semantics. They regard those who are not of their petty disposition as failures. The ideal state of a human being is to be relaxed and not be overbearing on those who are not as good as oneself on any matter. People should be moderate in their judgement on other’s capabilities and intentions.

I have to admit that personally, I had often been an uptight person until middle-age came knocking. I used to have little patience with those who I considered to be intellectually inferior to me. That later changed. I came to learn that moderate people are usually the wisest and most intelligent among us.