Humans are conflicted creatures. We are caught between two fundamental yet competing sets of needs: growth and change on the one hand, stability and order on the other.
These needs take many different forms and influence every area of our lives, from personal development to politics:
We want individual freedom to do as we please…yet we need the protection and accountability of relationships.
We desire novelty and challenge to satisfy our restless, adventurous spirit…yet we require the predictability and security of structure and tradition.
We the crave pleasure and enjoyment of attaining desired outcomes…yet we seek the deeper meaning that comes from confronting life’s difficulties and transcending our own self-interest.
The best overarching life philosophy is one that accounts for the complexity and contradictions of the human condition.
Such a philosophy allows for the expression of our full range of values and needs in constructive ways.
This is the essence of harmony.
The musical analogy applies: Just as different notes and instruments can be played together to produce a beautifully layered and cohesive piece of music, so too does the interplay of our diverse and conflicting values create rich and balanced lives—both individually and collectively.
Now that I’ve briefly described what harmony is, let me be clear about what it is not.
First, harmony is not utopia. It is not about attaining perfection. This way of thinking always believes “there” is better than “here” and worships achieving a particular outcome over everything else. This is a destructive mindset on both the individual and collective levels for a variety of reasons.
Nor is harmony merely about having pleasant experiences or positive emotions. Indeed, many of life’s most rewarding and fulfilling experiences involve a degree of discomfort, such as learning a new skill or raising a family.
Harmony is more comprehensive than either of these concepts. It includes happiness and also transcends it.
At its core, harmony is simply about integrating conflicting values and needs.
However, when we fail to properly integrate these competing aspects of our nature, the result is the opposite of harmony: discord, dysfunction, and disharmony.
This is at the root of the discontent of our age.
Any moral or ethical system that has any hope of being accepted universally must account for the diversity of human values and the complexity of reality.
This is why harmony is so important. It’s also why it has become the central idea around which much of my work now revolves and the subject of the book I’m writing.
The framework I am developing serves two purposes: First, to map out the conflicting needs and values that underlie our beliefs and behaviors. And second, to offer some insights for reconciling them in hopes that we might enrich our lives and improve the world on both an individual and collective scale.
So, welcome all you Harmonizers. I’m glad you’re here.