Moderation is the key to life
If we eat too much, we risk becoming fat and vulnerable to so many diseases waiting to do our dirty work for us. If we do not eat them in sufficient quantity, we will suffer the consequences of malnutrition. Overeating and not eating enough are extremes. They do not help us live life fully. Either way, we pay the price of going extreme. The only sensible and healthy way is to eat moderately, enough to sustain our bodies but not too much to cause problems.
There are some people who are fanatically religious. They become blind to things other than what they think with reality and cause the rest of us a lot of trouble. Their overly righteous attitude towards life makes them see things in only two ways: right or wrong. They become a prison for their beliefs and the rest of us are doomed for not agreeing with them.
Right at the opposite extreme are godless people without a thread of conscience in their hearts. They are more like animals that give way to all their lusts and desires. They say and do things that show no respect or concern for other people. All they want is the satisfaction of their desires, regardless of the consequences.
Religious fanaticism or impiety are extremes that will only bring grievance to those involved with them. Both require taking 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 fall into either of these extremes. She doesn’t want to blind her eyes with religious fury or inflame her heart with uncontrolled passion. She is a moderate person who lives her life delicately letting herself be guided by his conscience. Then his life passes calmly and serenely.
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 in comparison 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 end, 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 its way. People get older by the minute. Greedy old men fight a losing battle against time. Finally, when old age comes, sit sadly alone in nursing homes or stately mansions with no one around except a servant. The desirable extreme of trying to stay young will result in the unhappy extreme of getting old. If we are moderate in our lives in the first place, not 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.
Let it be with other areas of life. A person who is too rich is afraid of losing his wealth. A person living in extreme poverty is anxious 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 without any problem.
Those who exercise too much will burn out. Those who sit quietly all day suffer from atrophy. A boy who studies all the time has no friends. Another who only makes friends fails his exams. Staying in the sun too long can cause heat stroke and sunburn. Not going out at all makes the skin pale and pale. Driving too fast on a motorcycle can cause you to crash. Not moving at all also means that you cannot balance on the motorcycle. Sharpening it at all will render the knife useless. Being extreme is always the cause of pain.
Moderation, then, is the key to life. It is the way to live our lives as they should be lived.