In this analogy, I understand it as: Extreme Yang = Pushing forward with no hesitation Extreme Yin = Excessive caution when your sensitivity (or even fear of doing harm) overwhelms you Wouldn't true compassion be closer to the middle? I'm no master of this but showing compassion really seems to be about being empathetic and considerate, but it can come to your detriment if you're not able to put in effort to get what you need.

Yeah it has helped. I think for us guys especially it's so important to have some kind of skill to focus on mastering or to have ongoing projects to work on. I don't have a perfect definition of my exact outer purpose but I am in a pretty good place and moving in the right direction it seems like. Would you say you have a clear idea of yours??

Yeah, I have felt frustrated by that as well since getting interested in spiritual topics and mindfulness. I also saw the movie- it is pretty good but obviously the book contains way more detail.. That's really interesting about the inner/outer purpose. That makes sense to me. As I've gotten past some fears and have a little more experience, the way I reconcile is that we're always "meditating" on something. Sitting meditation is just one situation where you could be focused and mindful. You can get into a flow state and be meditative in a wide variety of situations doing things you enjoy or working.

Thanks, I have had some pretty remarkable changes and experiences. Then, I started coming across resources that could help me understand them a bit more.