November 14, 2004, Posted: 11:43am.

SEATTLE (AJC) - One of the main themes on our company and site is the idea of 360. Not only is it the area code for our capital city Olympia, WA, it is the philosophical ideal we are striving for. The idea of perfection and balance is elusive, but that should not prevent us from diligent work towards that end.

Let us first examine the idea of 360 degrees. Socialogically, early humans admired and worshipped the idea. In the world around them, visual forms that were jagged, rough, complex, and busy must have seen scary and confounding. Inate common sense tells us "sharp" is dangerous, "rough" is uncomfortable, "complex" hurts our brain. As human animals, we are in a constant search for comfort against things that are uncomfortable and complex.

Therein lies the circle. What forms must they have seen in those days. I can imagine two; the sun and the moon. This is why when we look back in history, across cultures and civilizations everywhere, we see reverance and exaltation of these to bodies. Not only were they bright and above us in the sky, they were perfectly round. In a chaotic visual world, there they were, almost god-like. After this realization, the search for rounded, soothing forms begins. The development of tools and apparatuses, technology and labor saving devices have there own forms, roundedness is reserved for the sacred and spiritual.

Speaking of the sun and moon, brings the other issue of 360 degrees which is a certain dichotomy in life. A pragmatic notion in life is the existence of a yin and yang. From the simplest ideas of hot and cold, day and night, wet and dry, to the complex ideas of birth and death, heaven and earth, and man and woman, early man was racked with a constant need of balance. The need to classify these stimuli, so that they could turn the chaos into order.

Now if we merge these two ideas, we arrive at the idea of 360. We use the term to represent both the idea of a path, cycle, and complete form, hence "perfection", and also the idea of a start and end, birth and death, yin and yang, hence "balance". This may seem like an oversimplification of the way the world works, but the point is that you may not have thought of things in these terms, yet they can apply to every event and branch of any discipline since the dawn of time.

How can we apply this philosophy in our own lives? I think that in everyday life there is an opportunity to sit down and assess our present state of mind, body, and soul. Since the first agricultural society that mastered farming techniques, these people ended the long history of nomadic life. No longer were they forced to travel from place to place, following game, in constant motion, worrying about where the next meal will come from. Now we can subsist in one area, and year after year live off the land. And with the domestication of animals, there was even more time left for other things.

With this extra time, not worrying about providing for onesself and one's family, there is more time to just think. The mind wanders and wonders, "What else is out there?", "What is the meaning of life?", "Who is respon- sible for all this?" These questions lead to the search and discovery of spirituality, and later on formalized religion.

In modern times, we live in an electronic, connected, and busy world. We haven't given ourselves enough time to take inventory of our lives. Even though almost all our needs are taken care of, we fill up the remaining time with other concerns. We lose these valuable moments because we are always on the go and in a constant strive for money and success. If everyone took a moment to account for the aspect of ones life and seek a balance, it would open up a new way of thinking and questioning the world around us.

What do I mean when I say that? Lets look at the idea of balance in daily life. When we balance something, there is good and bad. Obviously, we want to keep what is good, and avoid what is bad. If we shelter ourselves from the bad though, we have only good to compare it to, so we are less equipped to handle or respond to the bad. It goes along with the saying, "It is better to have loved then lost, then not to have loved at all." How can we appreciate, or in fact recognize the good, if we have nothing to compare it to? It, in scientific terms, is an unbalanced equation. So a seemingly unfair, unjust, uncomfortable, or even physically or emotionally painful event can have the effect of serving as a weight to balance our lives.

That is, if we look at it that way.

Many will say that a bad situation is just bad. We would want to avoid these things like a kkk outfit at a rap concert (change this analogy). I submit to you that these things make people more balanced. Many of the most successful, intelligent, and humanitarian people in the world have come from meager if not difficult and abusive lives. If a person is sheltered from the hardships of life (and there is hardship), they become ill equipped to deal with the hardships when they arrive (and inevitable, they do). Therein lies the balance of life. Ignoring or avoiding a situation, although ideal, will potentially lead to disaster, depending on maturity and state of mind. Just as well, if we address a bad issue internally, or incorporate the lessons second-hand from those we trust, this would be sufficient in the goal of balance. Then again, a priori experience cannot replace priori experience.

Every aspect of our lives can be put in terms of dichotomy. But is there a way to fully acheive perfection? It seems to me that just like the value of pi of the circle, it is not something that can be acheived to completion. Does this mean that we should ignore this idea entirely? I think that in the short amount of time that each of us has on this earth, once we get to a point that our needs and experiences are taken care of, all of us should search for balance. Whether it be personal, in business, or in spirituality, we must constantly balance and prioritize our lives. You get what you put into it. Are you happy? Give and you will receive. Make someone else happy and you in turn will be happy. Are you sad? You are giving off that vibe so no one wants to hang around you, and if they do, they are sad also. Do you have a positive outlook? Look at your friends, and I am willing to bet you have a pessimist in your midst. These things, either consciously or subconsciously are with us every day. Why not take an active role in thier manifestation? Only then can we become masters of ourselves (and it can only be an individual goal). Perfection is reserved for gods and immortals. By giving yourself the moniker of the "360 degree man or woman", you are telling the world that you are taking on the task of bettering yourself and those around you.