May I choose the serenity of equanimity

Are God and Nature then at strife, / That Nature lends such evil dreams? / So careful of the type she seems, / So careless of the single life; / I stretch lame hands of faith, and grope, / And gather dust and chaff, and call / To what I feel is Lord of all, / And faintly trust the larger hope.

— Alfred, Lord Tennyson

To be fascinated by The things of this life Is to live a reality solely Fashioned from concepts To be constantly sore-buffeted Between elation and despondency Shuffling between its two extremes — Pessimism and optimism

And the only difference between Pessimists and optimists is in The degree of their aversion To fear of failure and the Intensity of their desire Or appetite for success

For both extremes of human nature Are driven by their perceptions And must rely on this experiential Distortion to keep these states going

To live in upekṣā (उपेक्षा), in equanimity Is to not cloak facts in perception, With its likes or dislikes, faiths or fears, Hopes and doubts, instincts and opinions To be nityam samacittatvam (नित्यम् समचित्तत्व)— To be changeless or imperishable

For reality is indivisible Reflected in both Darkness and light Bitter and sweet Opposition brings concord; Discord forges the fairest harmony