Out of Opposition

Last weekend I got the stomach flu. I was not surprised because I was the fifth or sixth one in the family to get it. I knew it only lasted 24 hours and I knew I would get through it fine. When I started feeling sick, I went to bed, delegated the responsibilities for meals to other people, and knew that other household work would wait until I could get back to face it.
After my 24 hours of sleeping and not eating, I felt very weak but better than the day before. I was 3 or 4 pounds lighter than I was the day before and I had a sense that I was also better off. Out of the 24 hour hardship I had endured, had come good. My body had "burned out" germs or toxins and I felt "purified" inside.

I always knew that all things in the world have opposites. But I had not really realized that not only is good opposite of bad, it can also come from bad. I started thinking of other examples:
Immunity to chicken pox (for example) comes from having the chicken pox.

Also, opposites (neither of which are good or bad) often come from each other:
An immature baby comes from a mature mother.
A woman becomes a mother from nurturing her baby.
Tallness comes from shortness.
Fatness comes from skinniness.
Strength comes from weakness.
Morning comes from night.
Renewed energy comes from tiredness and sleep.
After some form of death, comes a rebirth.

This realization changed my acceptance of opposites in life to an appreciation of the "negative" things in life. And because of that awareness, I will more likely look for the good that comes from the bad instead of dwelling on the bad in my life.