This is From The Balance Beam
[TheBalanceBeam] - Is Balance Boring?
======================================================================
THE BALANCE BEAM
Ideas and Inspiration for Creating a Life that Works
Vol. 3 No. 4, March 26, 2001
Published by Success Builders, Inc.
http://www.SuccessBuildersInc.com
======================================================================
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened."
Lao-tzu
In this issue: IS BALANCE BORING?
====================================================================== Dear Friends:
I've recently received several requests to reprint a series of articles I wrote when The Balance Beam was first published two years ago. This series related to what gets in the way of leading a balanced life. Since many newer subscribers may have missed this series, I'm happy to oblige, and will re-run these columns on a weekly basis beginning with the next issue. Before we go there, however, I wanted to talk a little bit about balance in general. I've had a number of conversations with various people recently about the whole notion of balance and whether it's a good or a bad thing. So, with this issue of The Balance Beam I invite you to join the debate!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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Topic: IS BALANCE BORING?Balance has gotten a bad rap. If you read any of the fast business, high-wired magazines out there (which shall remain unnamed...) you know what I mean. Madison Avenue would have you believe that balance is boring, and worse yet, it's a good way to get left in the dust in the modern world of hyper-growth and constant change.
In some circles, the concept of balance has come to be equated with lack of movement, a static condition. And we all know that that's the kiss of death if you want to get ahead. Just bring up the concept of life balance in certain environments and you might as well write yourself a pink slip, because you're bound to be labeled as somebody who can't cut it in a demanding corporate arena.
I think these people are missing the point.
I read an article last week that panned the notion of balance by describing a metaphor of two kids on a seesaw. The author said that in a balanced situation, both ends of the seesaw would be up in the air and perfectly level, with no movement. He went on to say that this obviously means that balance is not something we should aspire to.
Hogwash. If you want to picture a metaphorical object for balance, try a mobile. Just imagine a colorful mobile with many different sized and shaped objects suspended from the ceiling. The balance in a mobile is dynamic. The pieces dance and move around ever so slightly to stay in sync with one another. If you happen to pull on one of the pieces, they all go haywire momentarily, but then come back to center and settle in, so that all the pieces are getting the weight that they need. Or, as my friend Clare suggested, try picturing a propeller. If the propeller on the front of a small plane is properly balanced, it will move you forward and up into the air. But if that same propeller gets out of adjustment and balance, it's not going anywhere.
Boring as it may seem, we human beings are programmed for balance. Our biology is built on the concept of homeostasis, which is what keeps us alive. If you haven't slept in 36 hours, sleep will be the top item on your wish list. Haven't eaten since 7:00 am and it's now midnight? Food is the most attractive thing you can think of. We are driven to achieve balance by all of our involuntary body systems, and, by our voluntary ones, when we don't ignore them. Go on, you can admit it. If you've been putting in twelve-hour days, what you really want is some time off to play, veg out, and do something mindless. And that's OK, because it's exactly what you need. Got money in the stock market? I'll bet a little balance would be a breath of fresh air right about now.
And if that's not enough proof, walk out your back door and observe what happens in the natural world. We just passed the spring equinox last week, that sun event that occurs when the length of our days and nights are in perfect balance. And guess what? You can predict that the summer solstice will offer the longest day of the year, the autumn equinox will bring us back to balance, and the winter solstice will provide our longest night. Yep, count on it. That's balance for you. Birds migrate and return, flowers bud, bloom and wither, trees sprout tender green leaves that will turn glorious oranges and reds and eventually fall and decompose.
So is balance static? Hardly. It's a completely dynamic phenomenon. Even as we achieve balance, we move away from it, and then we get back to it, and then away, and so it goes. We try to balance our schedules, our habits, our moods, our activities. Some days we're really good at it, and some days, we're really awful. But on the average, if we are to lead lives of our choosing, we're fairly balanced. And that's not boring. On the contrary, it's what keeps our lives exciting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words to live by:"Each day of human life
Contains joy and anger,
Pain and pleasure,
Darkness and light,
Growth and decay.
Each movement
Is etched with nature's grand design.
Do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things."
- Morehei Ueshiba"The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man."
- Euripides