A helium-filled balloon rises. A stone sinks to the bottom of a lake. The difference between the gravity of helium and that of a stone lies simply in their specific density. An expansive, and therefore light, temperament, when faced with a problem, views it from a naturally broad perspective and is likely, in consequence, to be solution-oriented. A contractive, and therefore heavy, temperament is likely to see the problem itself as the entire reality.
Contractive people are problem-oriented.
Imagine human consciousness as consisting of countless microscopic particles, like the motes of dust in a sunbeam. These motes, if they coalesce, may become solid lumps of earth. Imagine them, then, as particles of consciousness, light when their mass is widely dispersed, but heavy when they are compacted into a single lump of ego-consciousness. Expan siveness comes with sympathetic acceptance of the realities of others. With expansiveness, the particles of consciousness rise, even as a balloon rises upward, lifting one into an ever-lighter, more joyful outlook.