The Yin and Yang of living

Popular Eastern teachings seem more yin or passive in their approach to life. They often teach you to stop resisting your experience. Resistance is a mind body spirit phenomena. Physically it can show up as tension, emotionally it can be defensiveness, mentally it is often rigidity or judgmental-ness, spiritually it could be a level of refusal. We've all heard the phrases " go with the flow"and "let it be" to describe this philosophy. Since we are a culture addicted to constant doing, this is sage advice. Yet sometimes, the other side of the art of living gets lost in the process; the yang or active side. The balanced Yang approach involves having clear intention and purpose without being obsessed, discerning what is relevant and appropriate for you, being empowered by your choices while understanding they have an effect on others and actively developing harmonious relationships (to name a few). This creative and co-creative aspect may seem missing from  Eastern teachings if you only read books about them. The actual lives of adepts are often extremely creative and fully engaged.