There must be a positive and negative in everything in the

Hear the words of John McDonald, who spoke with the clarity of both mystic and sage: “There must be a positive and negative in everything in the universe in order to complete a circuit or circle, without which there would be no activity, no motion.” This truth resounds not only in science but also in the chambers of the human heart. For just as lightning requires both charge and counter-charge, and the wheel turns only when both force and resistance are present, so too life itself moves forward through the tension of positive and negative. Without this balance, there is no flow, no growth, no creation.

The ancients understood this well. They spoke of Yin and Yang, the dark and the light, the soft and the hard. Neither was condemned, neither exalted above the other; both were necessary for the harmony of the cosmos. McDonald’s vision echoes this eternal wisdom, for he reminds us that motion springs not from uniformity, but from contrast. It is the friction of opposites that sets the world spinning, the interplay of forces that creates both thunder in the sky and transformation in the soul.

Consider the life of Thomas Edison, who failed a thousand times before he succeeded in bringing the electric light to mankind. Each failure was the negative, each attempt the positive. Had he sought only success, without the counterweight of disappointment, the circuit of invention would never have been completed. It was the meeting of both—the spark between perseverance and failure—that lit the world.

So too in the story of Helen Keller, deaf and blind from childhood. Her world might have remained a prison of silence and darkness. Yet through her teacher Anne Sullivan, the positive force of hope and learning met the negative void of isolation. From this union came a life of motion and meaning, a circuit completed by struggle and triumph together. Without both forces, there would have been no awakening, no voice to inspire millions.

The meaning of McDonald’s words is therefore clear: we must not despise the negative nor worship only the positive. Both are part of the grand circuit of life. Pain and joy, struggle and ease, loss and gain—these opposites together generate the energy that propels us forward. If one were removed, existence would grow stagnant, like a wheel locked in place, like a river with no current.

The lesson for us is this: embrace the whole of your journey. When hardship strikes, know it is not a curse but a force completing the circuit of your becoming. When joy arrives, accept it not as a permanent state, but as part of the eternal rhythm of rise and fall. In seeing both as necessary, the heart grows calm, the mind grows wise, and the spirit flows in harmony with the universe.

Practical wisdom calls us to action. First, when faced with difficulty, pause and ask: “What motion may this struggle bring forth in me?” Second, when blessed with success, do not cling in fear of losing it, but recognize it as one half of the eternal balance. Third, honor both opposites in your life as teachers, for each completes the other, and together they form the circle of growth.

So let it be remembered: positive and negative are not enemies but companions, dancing together to create all that moves and breathes. John McDonald’s words are a reminder that without both, there is no current, no progress, no life. Embrace the circuit, honor the circle, and walk with courage, knowing that in the tension of opposites lies the spark that keeps the universe alive.