I’m not a big believer in the traditional sense of balance – the scales evenly positioned in the middle of two equal weights. I relate to the more precarious balance of a ballet dancer in the middle of a series of difficult turns, or the juggler on a board atop a barrel keeping all his balls in the air: fighting for center, always changing, awe-inspiring when done well.
I remember reading someone’s blog post (it might have been Chris Guillebeau) about balance being like the burners on a stove. It’s almost impossible to cook with all four (or five) burners at high heat. Something will end up charred and stuck to the bottom of the pot. But you can work with two at high, one at medium and one at low for a while, then switch them as necessary. This makes sense to me.
This week’s card, the Angel of Balance, wants you to take a look at how you’re spending your time and energy.
Are you too focused on one thing? Are you being pulled off-center and weighted down or does the energy around you feel vital, alive and busy-but-fun? Do you need to turn the burners up in one area and down in another?
Only you can tell. Take a breath, turn inward and listen. You’ll know.
Over here I have three burners on high and one struggling to stay lit. But after today, one goes way down and I’ve scheduled self-care time for Monday before I turn the heat up on another.
That’s the juggling act.
It can be different depending on the time of year or the time of day. But overall, you want to be taking care of and honoring your needs. You want the internal and external demands to match as much as possible. You want to go hard when you need to and rest when you can.
The Angel of Balance is here to remind you it’s a fluid process and the most important thing is to stay in touch with your needs and honor your choices.
I know this is a lesson I’m constantly learning. What about you?