HOW TO ACHIEVE. BALANCE—OR NOT
This morning I was semi-staggering around in my front yard. No I wasn’t drunk or high or tired or any of that fun stuff. I was having a little difficulty with my back spasms and that was causing me to walk on eggshells...I don’t really understand that phrase. If the eggs are already broken what difference does it make how you w2alk on them? Now walking on eggs that’s a different story. Anyway so I’m in the yard and I hear a small bird chirping. I have no experience at bird calls, unless ordering a chicken. McNugget happy meal counts or an occasional experiment with a duck call, so I don’t know what type of bird this was. So there was this little blackbird sitting up on the electrical wire chirping away and I thought—‘hurray, Spring is really coming.” Then I considered that this bird was a. Little chick standing on a wire singing and here I am stumbling on the flat ground having walked for a really, really, long time. What type of natural balance does that bird have? Then of course I asked myself what kind of balance was I shooting fgor today and would I have to have a diet of worms to get there?
Eventually I made. My way inside and let the whole concept of balance wander around in my mind a bit—and the folllowing words started chirping.
First, I’ll never be Charles Blondin. Who is that? Check out Niagara Falls history, nor will I be a Fabulous Wallenda from the finest circus tradition. therefore, balance or the lack thereof will probably not kill me. Then I thought is “living a balanced life” one of those sneaky peace and joy traps? Does the idea of what it means to be successful and happy include being balanced in so many parts of life that it has become a prime target for self-help lore because after all if you can’t achieve this miracle of balance you have some personal problems to fix. <sarcasm>. How often do waste the experience. In front of you because you are focused on achieving something for some other part of your life. When we are with our kids do we want them to be happy because that’s cool for them or because “I’m a good parent if all my kids are wealthy, healthy, and secure? Do we think about that when we are sitting talking with our friends who are telling us about a new book they really like, or when we are swimming in a refreshing pool? Does the idea that we can have it all (even if we don’t know where to put it) keep us from enjoying the extraordinary albeit limited set of gifts we have been given and developed? For me, it seems easier to understand peace and. Joy when I’m in the zone focused not on everything, but living through the resent moment of what I’m doing right now. Now I’m writing about the horrible expectation that our best self is balanced nearly all the time. What if Michael Jordon would not have honed his basketball skills because he was practicing the trombone? I don’t know if he played or plays the trombone because.his gift to the universe was being one of the finest competitive basketball players ever.
In short, every now. And then you might get a little out of balance. You may feel like certain parts of your life are being ignored or cheated. You can use your time feeling inadequate because you aren’t all things to all. People, at all times or maybe you can decide that balance. Is not your dream. Maybe you need to get really. Lopsided to expose your. Talents. Maybe just let. Those little birds chirp and balance their life away while you seize the moment, race hard toward something, crash and burn...knowing that “burning” implies a fire and that fire can light many fires for many others. Gray is a balance between black and white... Do you want to live.a gray life or a cool blue or a red hot one? Come down off the tight rope that you have chosen and run toward peace and joy
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