Since my fall, I’ve been playing with the idea and the physical reality of “balance”. Balance is a funny word - a word I think I understand the meaning of, yet when I start to look a little closer I wonder if my understanding needs to be rethought. I wanted to write a brilliant essay on what balance is and isn’t, yet the more I play with it the more uncertain I become.
For instance, balance can be used as a noun. A noun implies a thing that could be achieved as in, “she regained her balance”. I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to be “in balance”. Yet, when I practice balance exercises - for instance, standing on one leg - what I notice is that it is not a static thing at all. Rather, it’s a constant set of adjustments being made throughout my body. Not static at all, but constantly changing in each moment. If I close my eyes the movements become much more dramatic and I quickly see that I am not standing still at all. This is just as true when I am standing on two legs, but it’s a lot harder to notice.
The deeper we dive into science, the more clearly we see that nothing in the universe is static. The Earth we stand on feels like it’s not moving yet the Earth is actually spinning at about 1000 miles per hour and it’s rotating around the sun at 18.5 miles per second. Even the atoms that make up the physical structure I know as me are not static but constantly moving and adjusting. The atoms I think of as me have to move and adjust when everything around them is doing the same. Does that mean the universe is never “in balance” or does it just mean that balance is less a noun and more a verb?
If balance in the physical world is not static, it stands to reason it wouldn’t be in the emotional world either. I have this desire to be emotionally “balanced”. In my dream, this looks like being the ultimate zen master who is never flustered, walking through the world unbothered, always compassionate, always kind, and always in control. When my anxiety and fears pop up, I tend to look at them as a flaw - something to be eradicated on the path to being zen. Something that has disrupted the balance rather than part of the movement that ultimately appears to create balance.
I’m still pondering this concept and I’d love some input:
What does the word “balance” mean to you?
How do you imagine being “balanced” in your physical body? Emotionally? In your life?
What are the qualities you think of when you imagine being “balanced”?
Do you practice balance? If so, how? What do you notice when you practice?
How do you think about balance in a broader sense, in terms of society, community, and the planet?
What questions do you think are important when contemplating “balance”?
Leave me some feedback in email or the comments!
I had no idea how to tie together this week’s images with my pondering on balance either, so I’m not going to try very hard and instead I’m just including some images for us to enjoy this week:
Nothing says constant motion like two damselflies mating on a blade of grass blowing in the wind! I tried to take video but couldn’t keep it in focus for more than a second. I’m also totally intrigued by the little golden balls on the female’s body. Also, it’s the first time I’ve ever photographed damselflies mating!
Sending love to all of you for the challenges that throw your world out of balance. I know some friends are going through incredibly difficult times right now and many others are going through things I am not aware of. As Robin Williams said, “Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind.”
Take good care friends, and leave me your thoughts on balance in the comments!
Balance for me is free time. When I'm over-scheduled, everything starts to fall apart. I like to freewheel. And I almost have no time for it.
Have been mulling "balance" since I read your insightful piece- and am enjoying the comments here. I think we imagine (idealize) balance in relationship to a theoretical stillness that simply does not exist. In an incarnational reality, change and movement are constant. Even as my fingers move on the keyboard there is constant motion in my body on a molecular level (and cellular, hormonal, digestive, neurological, respiratory levels etc.) Where motion is constant, balance is always dynamic. This is as true emotionally and mentally as it is physically- although the truth is we cannot separate the two. When I "feel" something there is a corresponding change and movement in the cascade of biochemicals and hormones in my body (including, but not limited to, my brain.) Balance is not something we "achieve" (believe me, if it was, this little over-achiever would have been thrilled! :) but something with which we come into relationship. In this sense it is very much like dancing (or as Lauren so beautifully put it- surfing.) The catch is that we have to cultivate embodied awareness to know how to shift our weight (physically, energetically, mentally, emotionally.) And that is hard to do when we are trying to avoid some of our own less-than-pleasureable experiences (like feeling sad or angry or afraid.) Having said that, it is truly thrilling (to me) when I am just a teeny bit more aware of what is going on inside me, and find that moving back into balance becomes easier. (Honestly, the idea of embodied awareness appealed but it was a theoretical proposition- and I was genuinely surprised to find - when I can find it- that it makes a huge difference.) Thanks for stirring the pot of contemplation.