This is From The Balance Beam

[TheBalanceBeam] - The Great Equalizer

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THE BALANCE BEAM
Ideas and Inspiration for Creating a Life that Works
Vol. 2 No. 12, June 9, 2000
Published by Success Builders, Inc.
http://www.SuccessBuildersInc.com
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"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened."
Lao-tzu
In this issue: THE GREAT EQUALIZER
====================================================================== Dear Friends:
Ahhh, summertime. It invokes all the senses, from the sound of gentle waves slapping on the shore at the beach, to the smell of grilling hamburgers and citronella candles, to the sound of wild cries on an amusement park roller coaster. In this issue of The Balance Beam, we focus on taking time to enjoy summer, or, more importantly, to enjoy life and enjoy ourselves during the summer.

If you want to check out earlier editions of The Balance Beam that you may have missed, you can easily retrieve them by clicking on http://www.successbuildersinc.com/newsletter.html and going to the Archives section. If you are not yet a regular subscriber to The Balance Beam, you can also enter your subscription information at this location.
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Today's Topic: THE GREAT EQUALIZER

As one who lived in Florida for over twenty years, I am one of those people who have come to disavow summer. I put in my time with a hot house climate and swore that I would never again embrace 95-degree days as a way of life. Having moved to a more temperate climate, I generally grit my teeth when June rolls around, and set my timer for three months out, knowing that at least it will come to an end and we'll return to a more civilized weather pattern for the next nine months. Nope, not a fan of summer. Not me.

So imagine my surprise when, for some reason, I found myself warming up (both literally and figuratively) to summer this year. I kind of enjoyed the first few steamy days and used them as an excuse to take a break from my normally industrious nature. And you know, as I looked around, I noticed other people doing the same thing. Business colleagues who are typically nose to the grindstone easing up to take a long and lazy lunch hour on Friday afternoons. Clients who postponed meetings for opportunities to go to the mountains or the beach. Projects that were put on hold while stakeholders made scheduling summer vacations their first priority.

Now I know there are some electronic age fanatics out there who might think that in a dot.com business world playing at warp speed there's no time to slow down, even for summer, and that those who do will be left in the dust. But the wise woman in me knows that if I walk away from it on Friday, the world won't come to an end. Nor will all of my professional opportunities suddenly dry up over night if I take a few days off to go play.

What I'm discovering is that summer is the Great Equalizer. It's that sacred time of year that we give ourselves permission to ease up on the gas, throw caution (and pantyhose) to the wind, and make enjoying the sultry laziness of a warm afternoon ambitious enough.

So, how are you allowing yourself to slow down this summer? Have you planned your vacation? How much action are your hammock and backyard grill seeing, as compared to your office? What would it take for you to kick back, lighten up, and take time to smell the sunflowers?

It's still early June, and there's plenty of time for you to apply the Great Equalizer to your life. Make it a priority. Make YOU a priority.

I know there are some of you in the Southern Hemisphere reading this and saying, "Summer? What summer? It's freezing outside here!" So, start making your plans now, and just think what you have to look forward to!

And now, I think I'll take a siesta. Pass the lemonade, please.
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Words to live by:
"Summertime, and the livin' is easy."
- George and Ira Gershwin

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."
- Bern Williams