Like the tide that ebbs and flows, we must listen to advice but make our own decisions. like the show at dawn and dusk, we must learn to balance pride and modesty. and from the way the wind can both shout and whisper, we must learn when to be strong and when to be gentle, for everything moves in its own rhythm and its own yin and yang elements. it is the interaction of these complementary extremes that produces harmony, as laozi said, extremes meet. since the marathon, this notion of two opposite forces working together has been my running partner, so to speak. yin and yang exist everywhere, constantly interacting, and never existing in an absolute condition.