A More Balanced Perspective on Balance

 

If we expect balance to be a perfectly weighted equation in which we cross off or eliminate from one side and then the other in a regularly alternating pattern—first here, now there, next here, now there—then we’re likely to be eternally disappointed and to perceive ourselves as a failure.  I get tricked into thinking this way often enough.   Then I remember that even nature doesn’t follow such rigid rules.  The upcoming vernal equinox with its nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness is oh so temporary and ever so fleeting.   And I was never really that good at math.

 A more fluid metaphor may be required.  How might we differently and more truthfully conceive of balance?  Perhaps cycles of tides or seasons or moon phases would work better, but even they tend to be a bit too predictable.  Maybe rolling hills or a meandering river that’s constantly being changed by weather, erosion, human impact and other unexpected events might work.  I suppose it’s best to think about what analogy comforts you and helps keep you both productive and restored, but consider something that allows flexibility.  


How do you think of balance?  When do you feel balanced?  What do you do when you are out of balance?