Finding Balance

Balance. A tricky and precarious thing in our lives, but something we are basically forced to not only find from one day to the next, learn to incorporate it in most situations, but most importantly, find ways in which to hang onto it once we've found it. According to my dear friend Webster, which I am convinced I could not live without, balance has several definitions.....but there are of course a couple that really stand out for me. Mental and emotional stability, and the pleasing harmony of various elements. Sounds like a nice place in which "to be" doesn't it..... and shouldn't be so hard to find, but you would be surprised how many people I come across, who for whatever reason can't find it, no matter how hard they try.


Is balance something that's taught as a child, where those first precious steps of swaying back and forth help them to eventually figure out the formula for standing on their own? Or is it found when they get older and see what they can get away with as far as their parents are concerned?Of course there is really no awareness of what is being learned.....at least not until later in life. And more often than not, struggled with for a lifetime because of the "trying" that gets in the way of just wanting true simplicity, but not being able to find it no matter which road you take.


However, as adults, we can either choose to find balance in our lives, or choose not to have it.....it doesn't automatically come, and unfortunately that decision doesn't necessarily come unless you've been faced with a stressful situation that demands that you make some changes. Something has you confused, frustrated, tired, and physically drained, and you realize that if you did in fact have balance at some point, you've lost it and need to regroup. Some people would see this as a bad place in which to dwell, but I actually found it to be the most comforting. Why you ask? Because I totally believe that change can't occur until you hit bottom, and either wallow in the pit, or dig deep inside your soul for the strength and courage you need to crawl your way back up. This is in fact the moment in which we learn life's lessons.....so how can it be a bad thing?

Most likely at this point you feel quite vulnerable, and anything BUT balanced. I describe myself as that of an onion that has been peeled away, until there is nothing left.......completely raw. That if there were any answers at all to this life, I would have to find them now in order to survive the elements. Like being stranded in the wilderness, without the proper equipment or clothing to keep you protected, wondering if you will be rescued, or if in fact these are your last moments in life. You utter words like......why me God.....what is the purpose of my suffering....will I be saved from impending death.....will anyone know who I was, or what I wanted to do with my life? As you can see, being off balance can force one to do one thing........and that is to in fact "right" themselves.

What is my point? Well maybe I'm in the midst myself of seeking an understanding a "gap" of sorts, that needs to be appreciated and understood. In fact if it were more clearly understood, life would be a softer place in which to fall for so many of us if we could grasp that most profound space, that doesn't have to imply the worst....but in fact puts us all in a position of restoration. After all......doesn't it stand to reason that in order to gain motion in order to rise back up.....we have to have allowed ourselves the permission to reach a bottom of sorts?

So in essence in order to be restored, you have to be in the midst of something that implies the need to be restored. It's no longer important as to the why's or how of a situation.....only the acceptance of what is, and the desire and determination to move forward, not only expecting something different for yourself, but realizing that "something" will ultimately restore the balance that was lost.

I know...I'm sitting here wondering what I just said.....but I'm hoping desperately that it made sense, because I do find myself searching frantically for the words that might explain my own personal plight with balance......but in fact realizing that things that are off balance will, because of the laws of gravity, and just God's true purpose for our lives, lead us to find a way in which to "right itself."