Beautiful Balance

Beautiful Balance

Creating Personal Harmony

3H

Sustainabilty healthy approach
to life, growth, career and fun

in the 21st Century.

Sukich Udindu and Boaz Zippor



Beautiful Balance

Creating Personal Harmony

Head Heart Hand

Sustainable healthy approach
to life, growth, career and fun

in the 21st Century.

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
Regional Centre for Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability

Beautif�l Balance
Creating Personal Harmony

Copyright © 2021 by the Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organization
Regional Centre for Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability (SEAMEO SEPS)

All rights reserved

First printing by VISTA INTER PRINT CO.,LTD., August 2021

Author: Sukich Udindu and Boaz Zippor
Proofreading: Aswin Chittachumnonk and Tanyawarawat Chalermpatanasuk

Cover design and illustrations: Paparwarin Sangpradab

Page Amount 39 pages
Price 350 THB

ISBN 978-616-7961-53-8

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for
Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability (SEAMEO SEPS)
928 Natural and Environment Building Sukhumvit Road
Phra Khanong Khlong Toei Bangkok 10110
Website: www.seameo-seps.org Email: [email protected]

Published by the Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organization Regional Centre for
Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability (SEAMEO SEPS)

Printed by VISTA INTER PRINT CO.,LTD.
428/181 Kanchanaphisek Road Dok Mai Prawet Bangkok 10250

Tel. 02-015-4377

pleaFsoer ansekedforofmuosriengintfhoirsmbaotiookn ianndamsopuenctialfoprriscteudvyiaingE,mtarail:iniinngfo@orsaesampereos-seenptss,.org

Preface



What is balance and harmony? and more important, how do you teach
these concepts in a way that is clear and fun for any group of readers? In
this book, a slightly novel approach of thinking outside the box, created a
series of easy to grasp ideas and lessons, playful yet deep, funny but mean-
ingful, philosophical but easy to digest.
In order to achieve real change on the global level, we must first learn to
control and change our own lives, our own surroundings, and work from
there, harnessing the personal balanced energy that comes from the inside
and shine it into the world. We create this balance by learning to control our
mind, our body, our actions, our thoughts.
The 3H system – which stand for Head Heart Hands, is the perfect example
of the balance that we would like to achieve and teach for a truly healthy,
productive and joyful life, and is an efficient way to examine life at any
moment and place.
This book is not a “how to” book, and does not contain too many answers.
It is mostly a book full of questions and exercises, thought experiments and
doors to open, windows to other possibilities, other way of thinking, way of
living, way of looking at life, at us, at yourself.

Table of Content

The waiter and the runner

You think you have a direction, don’t you?

The detective and the artist

Finding out the truths, all of them

The cook and the scientist

Exactly more or less

The mind and the matter

Thoughts and facts, beliefs and deeds

Fight or flight

Chilling the cave man

The wants and the needs

Survival, satisfaction and success

The fun and the function

Practice, produce and party

The dreams and the reality

Fantasies and facts

The rivers and the lakes

Move to stay still

Making a living and making a life

Profits and pleasure

To consume and to create

Buying and being for beginners

To stand out and to fit in

Individual identity in the crowd

To change and to stay the same

Flexibility and focus

To grow up and stay young

Maturity and magic

Life is a circus, learn to juggle



Life is a mess. It really is. It is a huge mess, ever changing, ever evolving,
ever pushing and pulling, throwing million curve balls and twists in your
plot at you. And that is ok, because that is also the beauty of life, its charm.
It is unpredictable and surprising, always inventing reality as it moves
along. It is a circus. With monkeys and clowns and all kind of things being
thrown around, balloons and knifes, chairs being balanced on noses, plates
spinning around and shiny and bright trapeze artists flying above, trying
not to fall to the ground.
If you are already stuck in a circus, learn to juggle. Two balls, three balls,
four or five. That is a useful skill to have. Don’t try with chainsaws and
axes yet, but three balls would work. You don’t really need to learn how to
juggle, you might understand the concept without it, but it will surely help,
and it is also fun, so why not.
Juggling is actually what you are doing most of your life, what you will do
for most of your life. Always keeping a couple of balls in the air, holding on
to one or two, dividing your attention between all the moving balls, timing
and precision. Yes, all the things that make your life, with so many more
balls than we can expect, career, friendships, family, every day life, health,
rest time, culture time, off time… we always juggle parts of the puzzle, trying
to fit them in place as they are still flying in the air.

Beautiful Balance 5

Fun Family Culture
Career Friends
You

The Beauty of Balance

A lot of the shows you find in the circus, the real one and the metaphoric
once are built of artistry of balance, whether it is walking on a tightrope,
balancing a chair on your chin and a bicycle on top, a contortionist on one
leg doing a flamingo impression. Balance is fascinating. It is almost like a
superpower. But it is something one can learn.
If physical balance can be learnt and improved, the same is true for any
kind of balance. Train your thoughts and your behavior the same way you
train your muscles.
But why is it so important to have balance, what is the benefit of balance to
my life? Why can’t I just do what I do and live like I am told and expected of
me and not have to worry about things like balance? Well, you can. Society
already set a basic guideline of balance in life, of not going to extremes too
much or shaking the boat too often, so if you just follow the rules you will
have some minimum balance to keep you afloat, but that is not very efficient,
and let’s face it, not that fun.
Stop, think for yourself, try to determine what is important what is not,
what is useful what is not, what is fun what is not, try to have a sense of
value of things, and then you can start playing with the dials, a little more
for this part, a little less on this, I will take up the career a little and lower
the love life for a month or so, etc.

Beautiful Balance 6

And then, after experimenting and trying and learning about yourself and
what your balance should and could be, you will find the beauty of balance,
that resonance when you hit the right spot, when your dial rests on the
right line for a perfect harmony of a successful life. A happy life.
That is the beauty of balance, that it brings harmony. Lack of harmony
brings discord and disease, and pure harmony heals and revives. Not really
a difficult choice, is it?
Enjoy the beauty of balance, search for it, hunt for it, work for it, and you
will not be disappointed.

Healthy Happy Life

Satisfaction
Prosperit�
Har�ony

Balance

Knowledge

Bautiful Balance 7

The Head, The Heart, The Hand

In this book we tried to have a measuring tool to see where we are, what
we have, what we need, etc. We have come up with the Head Heart Hand
system. If an idea corresponds to that system it is to be kept and nurtured.

Head – what and how we think, and how the idea helps us and judged by

us is it the right thought, according to the sages?

Heart – what does it feel like and why, but more important is it really from

the heart is it charitable and generous? Is it compassionate and accepting?

Hand – is it practical and how do we do it? How do we build it? And will it

work for us? The hand follows the heart and the head, so we need to make
sure all three are aligned, or nothing will be done.

Beautiful Balance 8

1

The waiter and the runner

You think you have a direction, don’t you?
What is the difference between an Olympic runner and a restaurant waiter?
Let’s see what is in common, they both have to move very fast to complete
their goal. But the difference? Direction.
A runner starts in point A and runs as fast as he can to point B. A waiter on
the other hand has to run between ten different points, back and forth, in
all directions, depending on what he needs to do and what he is told to do.
We expect life to be a race where we are the runner, but reality changes
so fast, has so many parameters and so much input along the way, that we
end up round around in all directions most of the time. When you understand
that, you can organize your goals and energy better, but most important we
will not be shocked and surprised when we understand that it is ok, it is just
the way things are, and adapt to it.
The balance you have to find is between the imaginary straight line to your
goal, and the line life tries to draw for you, when the facts of life push you
in different directions, pull you in others, put obstacles, distractions and
detours in your step, and generally ignoring what you want.
Finding your right path, your own path, your real path, is not easy, and it
is a task that never ends. Same as brushing your teeth, as getting dressed,
finding your path is part of your day, your week, your life.
And even if you think you found it, if you think you now have the right
path, the right direction, well, the years change you and that changes what
you want and need in life, and so your path changes again. And again.
The good news? Because it is always changing, you can easily fix the direction,
adjust the trajectory, calibrate your destination and goals better. You are in
control.

Beautiful Balance 9

BF

DE

C
B

A A

Runner Waiter

What is the right route for you? How do you find the best
route for you? How do you create your own route?
What is your plan?

Does your route help other people and society? What can you
do to have a positive route? How can you touch other people
along your route? How can you make a difference?

What can you do? What do you want to do?
How can you improve your work?
Is your plan viable and sustainable?

Beautiful Balance 10

2

The detective and the artist

Finding out the truths, all of them
What is the difference between a detective and an artist? They both start
the day looking for one thing – the truth, but they use completely different
methods, different tools, different outlook on life and different way of doing
things.
The detective will look at facts and evidence, will dive deeper into the how
and where and when, will try to gather as much information as possible and
then analyze them to find out what the truth might be.
The artist? He might be more interested in the why and not the how, in
the what and not the when, he will try to see the big picture, the puzzle
as a story, as a masterpiece created for a reason. He will use feelings and
imagination, free spirit and a childlike view of the world in order to detach
himself from the details and see the beauty that is in the unexplainable.
The balance is how to manage to see the world from both points of view,
both cold and scientific, concentrating on what is, and also creative and
untamed, looking at what can be. Both viewpoints are useful for us through
our journey of life, find out when each one of them is useful, and when to
use the other, and you already solved half of the problem.

Beautiful Balance 11

Head Imagination
Facts Hear�
Research
Tr�th Creation
Investigate
Dreams
St�dying
Feelings

What are you looking for? Do you know? What is going on?
What is the Truth? What is truth? What is your truth? How
do you find your own truth?

Can you research how you are part of society?
How are you helping, and how can you help more?
What is the benefits of compassion? Of giving?

How do I find out what is the best thing to do?
Is my truth sustainable and viable? Does it work?
Does my truth promote acts that help or hurt others?

Beautiful Balance 12

3

The cook and the scientist

Exactly more or less
When you look at a real cook doing what he does best, in the kitchen, in his
zone, it is almost magical, to be there in that moment, to see how he chooses
what to add, how to cut, what to sprinkle. It is like a dance performance
while painting a masterpiece.
And part of the magic is the improvisation. A good cook can never give you
an accurate recipe. You add a bunch of that, and a handful of this, two
sprinkles of that one and taste to see if you need another one. Taste, smell,
feel, dream, do. This is not just putting ingredients together and waiting.
The scientist on the other hand, knows exactly what they are doing, which
is admirable, and very useful in some scenario. They know what is the right
and most effective protocol to do something, what is the safest procedure,
what is the most accurate way to measure the results. Without scientists
we would not have most of the things we love about the modern world and
the comforts it gives us, without scientists we would not be so evolved as a
species, so I don’t look down on them in no way, but their methods are hard
to practice outside of the lab.
Both the cook and the scientist create their own reality using the tools and
the means that they have, that they know how, creating with the way of
thinking and belief system they have, and the results are usually a very
different kind of reality.
The world is a dirty place, wild and unexpected, and sometimes you need
a dirty way of thinking to handle all of that. Find the balance between the
two and you made progress in your experience of the world.

How do I measure things? Why do I have to measure them?

Beautiful Balance 13

The Realit� Creation Process

Flexible Fixed
Open minded Method
Measured
By eye Evidence
Feeling Protocol
Dreams

What is proportion and balance, harmony and tension?
When do I use accurate measures? When can I wing it?
Can you measure the help and positive things you bring to
society and the world? Does it help that you measure things?
How can you use those measurements to improve the world?
Measure twice cut once. Effective efficient thinking.
Sustainable living based on research and learning.
The benefit of working together using common standards.

Beautiful Balance 14

4

The mind and the matter

Thoughts and facts, beliefs and deeds
We are a combination of mind and matter, a soul and flesh and bones.
We are a physical machine moving around, talking, doing things, building
things, but the machine is run by something we still do not really fully
understand.
The mind and the matter make humanity, and understanding the connection
between the two, how they work together, how they complement each
other, how they are inseparable, is the key for a successful sustainable life.
Unfortunately, the mind and the matter often want different things, push
you in different directions, whisper different advice in your ears, poke you
and nag you about different things.
When should you give into the matter, and when should you listen to the
wiser mind? When should you follow your basic instincts and when should
you listen to your heart?
We are not holy, and life was never meant to be, but finding the path where
both the mind and the matter are satisfied and sustainable, is not easy. You
don’t have to be a spiritual person to understand that how you think, what
you think, how you see life in your head, affects everything that happens to
your body, that you do to your body, that your body does.

Beautiful Balance 15

Knowing Owning Pavlov

Leading Reg�ets Feel Following
Joy Thoughts Att�act Actions Pleasure
Energ�
St�ess Mental Results Physical

Love Satisfied

Enlightened Lust

Mind Matter

What part of your life is spiritual and which is rational? How
does that affect your thinking, your beliefs and your actions?
How can you listen to both your mind and your matter and
understand them both?
Does your mind take you to a positive kind gentle place, or
do you follow the matter to a wilder more primal rapid living
mode? How can you use both your mind and body for a kinder
life?
What is the sweet point where mind and matter combine
for maximum efficiency and sustainable thinking and doing?
How can you use each of them to create different things?

Beautiful Balance 16

5

Fight or flight

Chilling the cave man
There are two systems that work inside each one of us, the sympathetic
and the asympathatic. The first is on when we are relaxed and feel secure
and the second one lights up when there is danger or excitement and we
need more adrenaline to be ready for action. Both are good for us, both are
needed.
Our brain decides what hormones to release to the body, and these systems
decide which ones. When we are relaxed and for example digesting our
meal, we need different hormones in our bloodstream, when we are faced
by a hungry tiger we need completely different hormones to survive. This
is why it is called fight or flight, we have a second to decide should we fight
the tiger or run away, and as both things need very high energy and adrenaline,
they are in the same part, the same system.
In our modern life we are two often pushed into the fight or flight system,
without even knowing it, just by being stressed, being tired, being pushed
around by society, by family, by schools, being in a position we have to
defend ourselves, where we are not completely secure.
So which one will it be? Fight or flight? How will you decide? You might
want to start with asking yourself what is it that you want in life, want of
life, want from life.
If you define your goals, you will be able to see what is worth fighting for,
and what is better to leave, at least for now, and retreat and take a breath,
and some perspective.
Flight is not giving up, it is not defeat per se, and fight is not always the
noble thing or even the right thing to do. The best advice for a sustainable
life? Choose your fights.

Beautiful Balance 17

Relax
Healthy
Prosperit�

Fear BALANCE Anger
Freeze Action
Run away your Fight
Give up FOCUS Hunt
Sur�ive
Protect

FLIGHT FIGHT

Do you understand how hormones and biological factors
change your way of thought, your choices and your behavior?
Can you think of ways to use these biological factors by
yourself?
In survival mode, it is hard to think of others, harder to be
kind, to collaborate, to build. Trying to avoid these moments
of fight or flight will make you a more rational better person.
What can you do when you are in fight or flight mode, and
can you use it for your benefit? How can you stay in a calm
mode and not be dragged to fight or flight so you can be more
effective and productive with better control of your own life?

Beautiful Balance 18

6

The wants and the needs

Survival, satisfaction and success
Our worst enemy is our own brain, and you must never trust it. From experience
I can tell you that your brain is not your friend, and does not always want
what is best for you. Well, at least until you train it too.
Because our brain is flexible, always changing, always evolving, always
learning, thinking of new possibilities, imagining things, both good and
bad, and building whole world that exist only for you.
The first thing the brain learns when you are just a baby is what gives you
pleasure and what gives you need. Food for example gives you both.
Wanting things is a wonderful mechanism of growth and development, as
you aspire to something, you have a goal, a purpose, a direction. Without
wanting things the world would not have evolved to the modern society we
know.
But one of the problems of this modern society is that the wants and the
needs have been faded into one big gray area of blind consumerism where
everything you want is automatically on the need list, because you want it,
and you just can’t live without something that you want.
We all know that this is as far from sustainable as can be.
And not only is the want becomes the need, you are bombarded with so
much advertisements and media that you never know what you really
want, but only what they tell you that you need to want. It is not easy to be
smart these days.
Ask yourself this, can I explain to myself why I want something or is it just
a gut feeling? Why do I feel like I need to have this, and have this now?
Well, if you think about it for a minute, you will be surprised. Usually the
need is for something completely different, and what you think you know is
just something to try and fill the hole, at least for now. Until tomorrow you
will need to want something else.

Beautiful Balance 19

What do you need? That is easier. Think about it. What What
What really makes you happy? What satisfies your you you want
soul? How can you do more of that? act�ally
Need sounds to us like a very basic thing, unexcit- need What
ing, serious, maybe too serious, to restrictive. It just you think
doesn’t sound like fun, does it? While want is all you need
the wonderful things out there, the bright colors, What
the shinny lights, the sweet tastes and the admira- you think
tion of the crowd when they see you bought a new you want
shirt. It is amazing. It is wonderful. It is worthless
and lasts for three heartbeats and forgotten forev- Stat�s Solves
er… and then you start eyeing your next fix already, sy�bol a problem
the next thing you need to want. Forever and ever.
Stuck. Give
Fills pleasure
a hole

Need
to own

Nor�al Need / Want

What is a sustainable life? A life where your wants Stat�s Solves
are fulfilled and met, but in a way that does not sy�bol a problem
damage your whole system or experience, in an ef- Need
fective productive positive, cost effective way. to own
What is a sustainable need and want relationship?
The one that works for you. Just be aware of the cost Fills
of the want and the benefit of the need. a hole

Give
pleasure

Optimal Balance Need / Want

Can you think about why do you want certain things? Why
you think you need certain things? What does it mean about
you, and can you change it and change your thought process?
What is your definition of satisfaction, with all your needs
met?

How does your needs affect the people around you, affect
society and the world? Are your wants sustainable? Do you
follow moderation and viable lifestyle or of greed and blindness?

How can you use best what you have now? How can you build
more on top of what you have now? What do you need or
want to build, to grow, to develop, and how can you do that
in a sustainable way that will benefit everyone?

Beautiful Balance 20

7

The fun and the function

Practice, produce and party
Life is about having fun. Enjoying ourselves. Enjoying the full experience
that the world can give us, that life can give us. A sustainable happy life is
one where joy and fun are in abundance, where positive feelings are the
rule and no crisis or circumstances can take away that joy.
But life can not be all fun and play, this is something we learn at a very early
age, when the playground is abandoned for the classroom, where roaming
and exploring is replaced by a regular job and a steady lifestyle.
One of the best lessons you can learn on your way to a sustainable happy
healthy fun is that you don’t really need a lot of external stimulations for
fun, and it is more about your attitude and your outlook of the world.
Happy people manage to enjoy even the most strenuous job, the most boring
task, everything. Sometimes just for the pleasure and satisfaction of a job
well done. But for fun sake is also important, so let’s talk about how to
make even that part of our life more efficient.
The first thing to do will be to identify and throw out the wild weeds from
your garden, the distractions, the pass-time non-activities, the staring at
screens for no reason. Your time is valuable. It is. And you have to use it, to
make the most of it, to enjoy it, to experience it.
Don’t be a zombie, no matter how comfortable it is, and how everybody
around you seems to love it so much. You deserve better, and you can have
a better time. Up to you. Learn how fun it is to do, to explore, to build, to
talk, to be functional.

Beautiful Balance 21

Dist�action Productive
mistaken f�n
for f�n Healthy
f�n

Passions

What is good fun and what is useless fun? What is productive
fun and how can you find sustainable fun that works for you,
that brings positive results in minimum sacrifice.
Can you have fun while helping others? Can you have fun
while contributing to society? Is the fun you choose good for
the world or is it harmful and selfish?
How can you have fun while still being productive? What can
you do to make sure your fun is sustainable to your lifestyle
and to your general plan and goal? What do you invest in your
fun?

Beautiful Balance 22

8

The dreams and the reality

Fantasies and facts
Every great thing that was done by a human started as a dream. A thought,
a moment when someone said “I wonder if I can….” or “what if we do….”
And the rest was history.
The future is the dreams of today, the adult is the dream of a child, the
society we live in today was once someone’s dream, someone’s vision. We
were a dream our parents had. So never look down on dreams, never treat
them like luxury or like a childish game, a frivolous pastime instead of
serious work.
Dreams are the building blocks of our universe, like the atoms that make
everything , they are the secret whisper of the wind, the first rays of sunshine.
But building blocks need builders, and dreams need someone to make them
real, to see if it is possible to make them real, what it will take, what will it
cost, what will the outcome and the result be.
Before dreams come to the building phase, they first have to pass some basic
tests of reality, to see if they are viable, if they are sustainable, attainable,
if they are worth it.
Sometimes it might seem like reality crushes your dreams, but more often
than not, this happens with dreams that are either not fitting, or just in a
wrong timing or location.
Reality is not against dreams, it is just the filter through which dreams pass
well, the good ones, the ones that you can invest in, with your energy, your
time, your passion, your dedication.

Beautiful Balance 23

Plans Your World
Hopes Fut�re Societ�
Ex�ect Sur�ive

Want Need

Dreams Realit�

Can you think and analyze what are dreams and what is
reality? What is optimism and what is delusion? Can you
think of new ways to make a sustainable change that will
turn your dreams into reality, that will bring them to life?
Are you dreams egocentric and concentrate on what you
want, or can you imagine something that is for the greater
good? For society? For other people?
What is the practical way to turn your dreams into reality,
and to live in reality in the most efficient way? Can you work
on your dreams while being sustainable and not hurt the
world around you? What are you willing to sacrifice for your
deams?

Beautiful Balance 24

9

The rivers and the lakes

Move to stay still
Sometimes in life we have to flow forward, to be guided by a power much
stronger than us, and sometimes we have to stay put, relax, take the time,
float a little, think a little, listen to the wind in the leaves. Different times
call for different attitudes.
Sometimes in life we are in a river, sometimes in a lake. Sometimes in life
we are the river or are the lake. We are that power, that energy but also
that calm.
There are people who are naturaly like a river or like a lake, that have that
bubbly optimistic flowing flooding pushing upwards personality, and those
that have the somber serious quite magic of a mirror like lake.
Which one are you? Do you know? Can you tell? If you can understand what
you are, you will find it easier to make the right choices, for you. If a river
tries to be a lake it will grow frustrated and bitter, if a lake will try to be a
river it will exhaust itself into depression trying to get to somewhere he does not
want to be.
Rivers need lakes and lakes need rivers, a group made out of just rivers will
be to wild to actually accomplish something and a group of just lakes will
lack the initiative and the drive to flow to greatness.
Find how to touch both your river and your lake, that are inside each one of
us, and try to figure out which of the external factors are rivers and which
lakes, which ones open river opportunities, and which offer the lake ones.

Beautiful Balance 25

The River The Lake

Flow Float
For�ard Stable
Direction Position
Move Stay
Energ� Relax
Ex�lore Plan
Well
Life Know
Excite Secure
Danger Goal
Goal

What is the best way for you? Can you identify if you are a river
or lake person? Does the attributes of a river talk to you, or is it
the lake that looks more fitting for you and your life?
Is choosing one or the other make a difference in how you treat
other people, society, the world? Is your choice or nature a pos-
itive force in the environment around you?
What can you do to maximize your efforts in a river and in a
lake, and what is the difference in the actual work you need to
put in? What can you build being a river or being a lake? Can
you use this natural division to build bigger and better things?

Beautiful Balance 26

10

Making a living and making a life

Profits and pleasure
A wise man once said – if you think you live in a free world, try getting out
of the house without money. Sad but true. In order to experience all that life
has to offer us we need to make a living, we need to earn money, to make
money, to save money.
We need money to pay for our rent or even buy our own home. We need
money to pay the electricity bills, and the internet bills, and the phone
bills, and to eat, and to go out with friends and to buy nice things. We need
money.
But unless we are extremely lucky and are born rich or win the lottery, we
need to sacrifice something for that money, sacrifice our time, our energy,
our attention.
Sometimes we sacrifice more than we can afford to sacrifice, trying to get
more money to fill in the hole of those things we sacrificed. We really want
to avoid that situation.
Balance between what makes you money and what makes you ‘you’, what
makes you happy, and you are in the right direction.
How do you do that? Well, the first thing you would want to do is put some
boundaries, some clear division between the two, a simple line where your
work stops and your private time starts. By defining the two parts and
separating them you have already made your life easier.
The second thing you can do is keeping a list of clear goals and milestones,
what do you want to do and when, what do you want to be and how, and
then you can calculate in your mind what sacrifice from your private life is
worth those specific goals.

Beautiful Balance 27

Bills Love
Job Fully Passion
Net�orking Ballaannced Relationship

Career Happy Family

Workshops Life Hobbies

Lear�ing Lear�ing

A Living A Life

Can you see the difference between making a living and
making a life? Can you find what are the common things, what
sets them apart? Can you make a rational choice of where
to put that line? Billions of people try to balance these two,
learn from them.
What is more important for society? That you will have a
successful living or a successful life? Can you see how helping
others and contributing to society affects both?
What is the practical reason to invest in one of the two? What
can you do to promote one of the two, what can you do to
make both of them work? How can you make both work, and
work for you? How can you use both to elevate your own life?

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11

To consume and to create

Buying and being for beginners
Sometime, in this modern life we have, we can feel like we are nothing but
walking wallets, nothing but what we pay, what we consume.
Well, it is mostly smart people who have felt that way, as I am sure you
have too at one point or another. And you are right, we are. It is sad, but for
a large part of the world we are nothing but ‘target market’.
Recognizing, it is already half the solution. Understanding how it works
means that you can integrate better in that kind of market without losing
yourself, being a consumer but at your own will. At your own choice.
But if you are really looking for a sustainable happy healthy life, you will
find that consuming, although a pleasant thing to do, brings just a fraction
of the joy creation does.
Don’t buy, don’t be a user be a maker, don’t be passive be active. Give some-
thing to the world, create something that only existed in your dreams.
You might even find that people will respond to your creativity and the willing
to be productive and not just a shopping sheep, they will pay you well for
that creativity and you can be a more efficient consumer too.
The satisfaction that comes from consuming and creating is different, on
different level, on different planes of existence, true, creating might be
more important in the long run, but they are both valid. Enjoy them both.

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Consuming Creating

Subst�acting Adding
Using Making
Wasting Cont�ibute
Therapy Produce
Fun Imagine
Dream
Comfor�able Lear�
Passtime Work
Societ� Satisfaction
Stat�s

Can you distinguish between being a consumer and being
productive? Can you understand the ideological difference
and how does that help you make better life decisions? What
is the right balance, how do you enjoy both worlds?
Is your consumption helping society? Does it help people?
What is more kind and considerate, consuming or producing?
what is more ecological? More ethical? Can you balance
between taking and giving and find the narrow path to a happy
healthy life?
Can you consume in a sustainable viable healthy way that
does not hurt the world, it’s resources and the people in it?
Can your creativity start something new and better, build
something more healthy and more effective for everyone?

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12

To stand out and to fit in

Individual identity in the crowd
Another one of life’s little ironies, we all want to fit in but stand out, to be
part of the group but not too much, part of the crowd but very distinguishable
and recognized, we want both sides of the coin, eating the cake and keeping
it whole and basically everything and right here right now.
The sad thing? We usually get it. Because life is complicated. Live with it.
You can be two things at once, you can want two different things at once,
and you can even go in separate directions, yes, at once, as life is complicated.
Half of the people I know have a problem fitting in, or at least they think
they have a problem fitting in. sometimes it really is just their feeling
because society is actually much more flexible and forgiving than we fear,
normally most people do not even care if we exist.
And it is usually the people with a higher awareness of self that have this
problem, people who know who they are, what they are, how they build
themselves. They feel they do not fit in. I am happy to say that it really is
mostly in their imagination and they do fit in, but in their own way.
Do not be tempted to think that you have to choose between the two. In
fact, by being the best you can be as you, you already fit in a space that
was waiting there just for someone like you and no one else. Be wise and
understand that fitting in is not by any means selling out, in fact the word
fit is crucial here, fitting in means finding the slot in life where you fit in you.

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OObebyey fifinnddyoyuour rcecnentetrer quqDueDosentosi’ntoti’notn
sestetyoyuour rgogaolasls

mmananifiefsetst
pprortoetcetct

Can you make an informed decision if it is more important for
you to be special and outstanding or to be part of the bigger
picture? Can you think of all the advantages each of them
brings? Being both might work if you manage to find the
balance, the right time for one, the right time for the other.
What would be better for the world? Another person for the
‘power in numbers’ or someone who is different and has a
special contribution to society and the world? Can you be
special and still be part of it all? Can you be an individual and
still help everyone else? Maybe just by being special?
What is it that makes you special? What is it that makes you
useful for the world? What can you do, and how does it fit
in the big picture? Can you do things on your own and still
be part of a sustainable society? How can you balance these
ideas?

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13

To change and to stay the same

Flexibility and focus
The only constant in the world is change. We all change, everything around
us changes. EVERYTHING. Everything is growing or decaying, blooming or
rotting, but nothing changes the same. The strongest stone does not stand
the test of thousands of years, the deepest valley will be filled with soil one
day. The seed becomes the fruit, the man becomes nutrients for the trees.
Buddha said that there is no change that is painful, it is only resisting change
causes pain. That is indeed very wise, but sometimes resisting change, or
moderating it, is the most important thing that you can do for yourself.
There are many reasons for change, many things that bring change, outside
factors, peer pressure, society and the expectations people have of you,
economic factors, personal problems, physical problems.
A million things can cause change, sometimes small change, small calibrations
of your life, and sometimes life shattering tectonic land movements of
changes, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, real change, closer to a rebirth or a new
fresh start.
What are the things that you are willing to change in your life? What
are the things that you must keep, that you want to keep? That you are
willing to fight for? Are you sure you are fighting for the right things?
That you really understand what are the parts you should fight for?
What will the change be? Do you decide, or does someone else? Are you
active or passive in this change? Is it going to improve your life? To better
yourself?

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“The Only Constant
in the Universe
is Change.”

What is change? How do you bring it? How do you create
it? If everything starts from your way of thinking, how do
you change that? Can you think of ways to promote positive
change? Can you understand what is the balance, what is the
benefit of changing what needs to be changed and protecting
what needs to stay?
How does your change affect others? Can you change without
hurting people, without taking away, just by growing? Can
you change to be more kind? More understanding? More loving?

What can you do to change, but to keep what you need and
want from your old self? Can you change your life to be more
sustainable, more compatible, more in sync with everything
around you, people, society, the world.

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14

To grow up and stay young

Maturity and magic
Remember when you were a child and everything looked magical? When
you could believe anything and that anything is possible and that you can
do anything, be anything you want? I bet you miss that feeling.
So why did you stop? Because people told you to grow up? Because life
kicked you a little bit and you found out the world is not perfect, or fair, or
kind? Really? That is your excuse. No, I don’t think that is a good excuse.
Sorry.
Keeping the child inside of you alive is one of your responsibilities as an
adult. It is your job to grow in a sustainable way, and this time what needs
sustaining is that young you, before the world happened and you changed.
That sense of wonder, the will to play, the big eyes open to soak in the
world, the wild thoughts and strange visions of what could be... if you lose
all of that you have done yourself a huge disservice and damage.
How do you do that, now that you are already all grown up and serious?
How do you find it again? That childish energy? That basic simple silly joy
of fresh thoughts?
Well, I would suggest by doing something silly. Watch a cartoon. Kick a ball
around for ten minutes. When was the last time you climbed a tree? (if your
neighbors ask you if you lost you mind, then I said it is ok.)
Do something that maybe you shouldn’t. Do something fun that is bad for
you. Eat a cake. Skip work for a day in the park. Keep things slightly wild.
But not too much. Sustainable wildness. A working wildness.
And then when you got the spark, when there is a small sign that the fire
of childhood has been ignited again – open your eyes. And see. With the
eyes of a child, innocent, untainted, untamed, with no filters, no narratives,
seeing things as they are.

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And the most important thing - Keep that memory when you come back to
adulating five minutes later, and try to balance between this pure vision
and your goals as a grown up.

Fresh thought
Clean View
Play / Lear�
Curiousit�
Creativit�
Advent�re / Fun

Can you understand the benefits of being an adult, the magic
or remaining young and fresh? Can you make a list of pros and
cons of both sides of that coin of life? How can you balance
two such different things.
Is being an adult make you a better person or is being young
at heart the way for a better life for everyone? Is growing
up making you more valuable for others or more cynical and
distant? What is the best way to give from yourself as an
adult?
Figure out what is more practical for you, for your life, for your
goals. Is it being an adult who does all the right things, or
someone with the eyes of a child who sees all the things you
can really do, can really be? Which one is more sustainable?
How can you be both, balance both, for some really amazing
results.

Beautiful Balance 36

1. The Head ... how the new thinking change your life and the world
2. The Hand ... how to practice through the Royal Working Principles
3. The Heart ... the volunteer spirit and philanthropy It may come across
our series quite often

What is Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP)? SEP is the philoso-
phy that His Majesty King Rama IX guided a new way of living for
the Thai people for a long time. His Majesty had tried himself. When
it succeeded, His Majesty published the principle as a model for the people.
This new approach started before the economic crisis, but the people became
interested in times of hardship during a crisis. During that period, His Majesty
extended the meaning of the philosophy and brought it into practicality in
a wide range. To focus on people to live a sustainable, stable, and safe life
under various changes that occur according to globalization. His Majesty
also gave the meaning in English as Sufficiency Economy, as said on
December 23, 2011.
The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy is an important guideline for the living
and practice of people at all levels. It is a way of thinking, a behavior, and
a development approach with people and communities at the center. All of
which will lead to sustainable development.

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Thailand has its national development framework that has the SEP
as the basis to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The phi-
losophy bases on the principles of local wisdom and integrity as well as
maintaining balance by following the middle path with reasonableness
and prudence according to the concept of His Majesty King Bhumibol
Adulyadej. The focus of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy is sustainability,
and it is a key principle of Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development
Plan since 2002.

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Follow stories about His Majesty King Rama IX’s work from
SEAMEO SEPS
Website: www.seameo-seps.org
Chaipattana Foundation
Website: www.chaipat.or.th
Office of the Royal Development Projects Board (ORDPB)
Website: www.rdpb.go.th
Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council
(NESDC)
Website: www.nesdc.go.th
https://sdgs.nesdc.go.th/
Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation
Website: http://tsdf.nida.ac.th/th/

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SEAMEO SEPS
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
Regional Centre for Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability

www.seameo-seps.org