For many, I think, Balance means being 'rounded': for example, being involved in sports, art, community work, friendships... and finding a way to juggle these different aspects of life so that we are 'balanced'.
I see it very differently. There are some people who are born with rounded personalities: they are interested in many different aspects of life. This is indeed a great gift. And there are others, many more, I imagine, who are interested in just one or two different things. Then there are others, who discover a passion for one aspect of life.
Passion and balance don't seem to go together very well on the surface but, at a deeper level, I see tremendous harmony between them. For me, Balance is a feeling of inner freedom. Your life may revolve around your passion, your family and friends... you may have no real interest in other areas of life. And I don't think that matters so much, if you feel that you are free inside. If you feel that life simply flows through you, because you are loving what you are doing when you do it, then I believe you have found your Balance.
Too many people make themselves ill, tried and grumpy trying to fit in all the different activities they feel they should do in order to be Balanced. This is a mind game, the ego trying to achieve control, prestige... I suspect it's missing the very point.
Search instead for the feeling of inner freedom - there is your Balance, your Centred Point.
What I have learnt about Balance
I will be brutally honest. I'm not great on Balance. I'm one of those people who have searched for 'Balance' in all the wrong places. I've thought it was about being 'rounded' and interested in many things. I've thought it was finding a sense of spiritual peace through meditation. It was only in writing this piece for you that I finally came to understand it differently.
It was only last night that I understood that Balance is a sense of inner freedom, a feeling of lightness and spaciousness with life. Not a life crammed with 'should', 'must', or 'oughts'; but a life that honours the unique gifts I have to offer, a life that makes my passions, delights and gifts the foundation stone of my daily thoughts and actions. It's a liberating insight... I wonder how it will work out in reality.
What I wish for you
You are a gift to the world. Your coming is a unique moment that will never be repeated. And your life purpose and legacy is as unique as you are. My wish is that you discover your own Balance, that you learn to discern when you feel centred, when you feel free - where life is effortless, simply because you are living in your own flow.
Then you will have achieved Balance.
A gem from Jen :-)
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