Life requires balance. The ugly and the bad have to be offset by the beautiful and the good. The beautiful and the good cannot truly be enjoyed without experiencing the ugly and the bad. The ugly and the bad are necessary to toughen up the mind and soul. The beautiful and the good are critical to sooth the spirit and the heart. Too much ugliness and the man becomes bitter. Too much beauty and the man becomes too soft. The right balance results in the man being fulfilled and resilient.
In practical terms, it is a matter of experiencing duress, misery, discomfort, but offsetting it with enjoyment, beauty, and comfort. The balance is essential. Without balance, there is chaos, and the worlds and souls are no longer in sync. Ultimately, chaos leads to annihilation.
This time around, it started with the absolute misery of tropical survival, training the armed forces of another country in the jungle of Panama. The jungle is a gigantic swamp, infested with all sorts of abominations, from Malaria-carrying mosquitoes, to hungry crocodile and highly venomous snakes. One is constantly wet and greasy all over his body. Balls are hot and sweaty, and rub on thighs, causing irritation and bruising. The slightest scratch gets infected in a matter of hours. Sleeping - or rest, as actually sleeping in the jungle is nearly impossible - is suspended to trees, less bothered by the worst creatures, but still harassed by gigantic spiders and hysterical monkeys. Not to mention that tropical wildlife seems to not understand the concept of quiet time. Dry clothes no longer exist. Water, however much it is filtered, is always lukewarm at best, and tastes disgusting. Feeding is an ordeal, trying to not gag on snaked or spider flesh. Days are short and nights are long. Ultimately, jungle survival may be one of the most miserable experience in life. It is, however, necessary, for a man to toughen up, to learn life and to develop his core and fundamental evolutionary traits and characteristics. And the heat… The horrendous heat with over 90% humidity… An absolute ordeal with no reprieve.
But a life of misery is no life at all, and the duress must be offset for the body, soul and mind to reach balance. After survival in a harsh environment, comes rest in luxury and beauty. From the jungles of Panama, to the pristine beaches of Costa Rica
In addition to reaching balance by experiencing both misery and bliss, every operation should normally start with the ugly and end with the beauty. This is because the human brain emphasises the last experiences. It is also much easier to make your way up, than to dramatically and abruptly fall down. This is what is referred to as Positive Outcome Balance: A combination of overall negative and positive experience, always ending with the positive event.
This is as important to train warriors as it is to raise pups. Starting with misery and ending with pleasure allows the individual to learn and grow from misery, while he remembers the good aspects of the experience. The contrast between bad and good also makes the latter more significant. With the good generally being more prevalent than the bad.
Positive Outcome Balance, however, can be abused in order to break a man. A similar approach has always been used by totalitarian governments to destroy morale and the man. It involves a lot of negativity, occasionally offset by a little bit of positivity. It is not balanced at all, and thus ultimately leads to chaos and destruction. But with the positive outcome somewhat prevailing at a subconscious level in the man, it allows for the breaking of souls, minds and body.
The ideal Positive Outcome Balance, therefore, requires more positivity than negativity, with the former generally being the conclusion of the experience, and allowing both toughening up and soothing, at all ages, for absolute fulfilment.
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