There are cycles in the world, where a Wrong can permeate a reality so much so that illusion is all that is apparent. That Wrong travels on the lips of friends and strangers alike; each victim becomes an agent. Each agent finds a new victim to become an agent. We pollinate each other with whatever is on our lips, be it a beautiful song or a deadly kiss. We transfer anything we carry over to the next person, and so the cycle goes, not unlike the truth about socks.

It just keeps going. A viral spiral, a supposedly never ending cycle. But the cycle can be broken, it can be stopped and it can be halted so that there is no transfer. It can be grounded, sent to ground through a conductor in a world of insulation. The torch need not be picked up. But it requires something novel.

It requires looking beyond the obvious and looking into the why of things. When someone hurts you, do they really intend to or are they just reacting instinctively? When someone pleases you, do they really intend to or are they just passing something along? Can one exist without the other? Is there really a possibility of balance between the two? Should there be?

Interestingly enough, there was a fellow who got nailed to some pieces of wood, held together perpendicularly such that his arms were perpendicular to the rest of his body. Word has it that he did this to ground something off. To sacrifice himself for something. Some believe it is a fairy tale, others believe it is more true than evolution, but the point of the matter is that whether it is true or not, the idea persists. It is not too different when compared to other people, too - even everyday people who, indeed, turn the other cheek or simply walk away when wronged. A continuation of the 'eye for an eye' philosophy simply tends to leave a lot of blind people wandering around... but weren't they already blind?

And that, I suppose, is why striking that balance is important. But how much pleasure balances a certain amount of pain? Does some money compensate someone for the loss of a loved one? Does a soldier returning home without a limb really feel better about why the limb was lost because of a parade? Does the phrase 'just friends' truly mend a broken heart? Does a pack of salted nuts truly help someone who is thirsty?

I guess the trick is to just give people what they need. Even then, if they need to hurt someone else to feel better about themselves, is that balance?

I don't know. Lots of questions and no answers. And that is a poor balance indeed. :-)