There is an obvious but often ignored element of equilibrium that courses throughout the entire fabric of the Universe. For every left there exists a right. For every to there is a fro. For every up there is a down. For every measure of distance point 'A' is separated from point 'B', point 'B' is an equal and opposite distance from point 'A'. For every positive numeric value there is a negative equivalent and for every spatial direction in our three-dimensional world there exists a diametric opposite. It's not by mere coincidence that the language of science - mathematics - encodes its logic into a device called an equation; which requires its elements to be equivalent on opposite sides of the argument. Newton captured the essence of natural balance when he codified the law of physics that states every action precipitates an equal and opposite reaction. And while quantum theory seems to challenge certain aspects of Newtonian relativity, it does so by the use of mathematically balanced equations.

From simple addition to quantum mechanics, the principle of reciprocal balance is a prevailing dynamic that even the rules of cause and effect must obey.

The way things act and react reflects their nature, the inherent properties of their being. If the realm of cause and effect is universally governed by natural balance, then the source of that equilibrium must reside within the composition of each element - within the very architecture of existence, itself. It is obvious that there exists an opposite equivalent for every conceivable quantitative value and a reciprocal for every vector in our three-dimensional world. If that same common law of natural balance covertly applies to the realm of qualitative values as it overtly does to the quantitative and spatial aspects of existence, then for every qualitative value there should exist an opposite.

Since the time of Democritus of Abdera (460-370 BC) it has been postulated the Universe is comprised of particles which - though they may be profoundly minute in nature - are not infinitely divisible. It is inherently logical that before the smallest non-empty set can be assembled, there must exist an individual element with which the set may be populated, a unique existence that is not composed of independent parts, a single physical manifestation which consists only of itself, an elemental identity I call an 'entity'. The Standard Model of contemporary physics does, indeed, portray the physical world as paired sets of fundamental particles and anti-particles, fungible and structureless building blocks that include a handful of quarks and leptons and a small assortment of force carriers. But there seems to be a lot more matter than anti-matter floating around the cosmos and, in fact, particles and anti-particles aren't opposite existences, they are only elements in opposing condition, materials that react to each other by changing state and converting into energy on contact. If two independent particles were truly opposite existences they should mutually annihilate on contact. No mass or energy would remain. Instead of simply changing state from mass to energy, all of their properties would physically negate each other and they would totally disappear - cease to exist without a trace.

Just as we would expect every action to be offset by an equal and opposite reaction within the physical boundary of a process, we should also expect qualitative symmetry to reside within the physical boundary of an entity - not be disbursed between two or more separate existences as independent particles and anti-particles.

If elemental particles were truly structureless and homogeneous, they would also be incapable of internal change and the Universe would be a static and timeless domain. What if substructure within an entity doesn't consist of independent elements, but dependent qualities and anti-qualities, sub-qualities that cannot exist independently.

We wouldn't normally be able to tell a quality from its anti-quality by just looking at it, but with the use of a little color coding I will attempt to illustrate how it may be possible for reciprocal qualitative values to exist within the physical boundaries of a single independent entity :

Within the realm of subtractive colors, the opposite (negative) of the color quality MAGENTA is GREEN. Equivalent proportions of MAGENTA and GREEN produce BLACK. But GREEN is, itself, an equal mixture of the colors CYAN and YELLOW.

Just as the quantitative value of Ø is equivalent to two opposing numbers (+1) + (-1), the qualitative value of BLACK is equivalent to three opposing colors MAGENTA + CYAN + YELLOW. All of the opposing sub-elements must be present in precisely equal proportion in order to reciprocally balance each other and maintain a neutral value. Of course the number of opposing sub-elements within a fundamental particle may not be limited in scope to two - or three - or any other finite number.

The concept of reciprocal balance requires every instance of being within an entity to have an opposite equivalent - but that doesn't mean each point of existence has a diametric opposite (two defined points offsetting each other), The opposing sub-qualities of any given portion of an element may actually be disbursed throughout the remainder of the entity. Just as the colors in the illustration above, if any fraction of the color wheel is removed, the sum of the remaining colors would not be 'perfectly black', its value would be something other than neutral and a law of nature would be broken.

The substructure of a fundamental particle is not comprised of independent elements that could exist separately on their own. The very existence of each point within the entity is co-dependent upon the existence of the remainder of the parcel. Every physical instance within the element is an interdependent contributor to its neutrality; and it is this reciprocal balance - not structureless homogeneity - that defines it as a single existence, an element comprised only of itself, a unique integral of null value.

There is a basic law of physics that states two things cannot simultaneously occupy the same space. But two points of being within a fundamental particle are not two individual things, they are two instances of the same existence - mutually co-dependent parts of the same elemental identity. The rules of conduct within an entity may be very different from those that govern the interaction between two entities. Internally, an entity's sub-qualities may have the ability to morph or blend like the illustration above to produce a spectrum of different conditions or states of being - a limitless variety of shades and colors.

Entities must be truly 'in-dividual'. They are not comprised of independent components, so no portion of an elementary entity could ever be separated from the remainder. When a composite is severed, as in slicing a loaf of bread or tearing a piece of paper, electromagnetic forces holding independent particles in proximity to each other are overcome by the force of the device used to separate the material. But the field of existence within an entity is continuous. To cleave a fundamental particle, something must be inserted between two of its continuous points. Two independent existences cannot occupy the same space, so the point you are attempting to cleave would simply move. To sever an entity at a point within its domain would require the point of separation to physically cease to exist, and if change is a function of existence, then before the most infinitesimal point of being could be annihilated, it would lose its ability to change or be changed.

Natural balance defines an entity - not homogeneity. Unlike those simplistic examples of structureless and fungible particles touted by the Standard Model of Particle Physics, reciprocal symmetry suggests a limitless spectrum of dynamic elements both material and ethereal in nature, a wondrous cosmic fabric of infinite variety.

For every value V( + ) there exists an equal and opposite value or set of values V( - ) such that: Every set of values in the Universe is reciprocally balanced

That uniquely self-justified and intrinsically logical primordial element we call "nothing" is simply an abstract interpretation of the natural equilibrium that pervades the structure of the Universe. In the form of reciprocal balance, "nothing" is, in fact, the common essence of every element in the cosmic spectrum and it is the fulcrum of an eternally balanced perpetual system.