Living a Balanced Life

The idea of balance communicates a static state. The reality is we don’t get any free passes on this high wire act that requires momentary attention at times. If it feels like hard work sometimes – more like most of the time for some of us – that’s because it is. However it’s helpful to notice where and when both ease and challenge arise. I recall a vacation where on one day I reflected how grounding it felt to connect with some people – engaging balance seemed almost effortless. On the very next day I found myself binge eating after exposure to a different sort of energy from people I loved and should have been at ease around – whoops! Like I said, no free passes.

But somehow when I accepted the difficulty of this quest I was able to be patient with myself at times when I felt like I’d fallen off the wagon. Yes I experienced loss of awareness of my center for an evening but the sunrise of the new day came accompanied with an opportunity to get right back on that wagon. The key was to see and seize the opportunity. But I think a high-wire walker would agree that balance isn’t a destination; it takes momentary commitment and presence that’s worth it because its benefits far exceed the alternative. They might also report that it is in the act of losing balance that we gain some of our greatest lessons and all we can do is realize where we are, correct, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
– Lois