Balance
Balance: seemingly the perfect prescription for our manic-paced world. Who would argue with finding more balance in life? We’ve all heard about the benefits of living a balanced lifestyle, but what does that even mean?
As we approach the autumnal equinox, it is our opportunity to review our definition of balance and how it affects our life. Equinox time is when we have equal light and dark, and as the sun and moon find their balance, they invite us to do so as well. Now is the perfect opportunity to decide for ourselves what is deserving of our time and energy, and what matters most, and what will bring more balance to our lives.
We are told that balance is giving equal time, attention and energy to all aspects of our life – work, play, family, friends, self-care, physical health, emotional growth, spiritual practice and overall well-being. If living a balanced lifestyle requires giving equal attention to all these aspects of our life, it is no wonder why balance is so elusive and hard to achieve. Talk about a balancing act! Perhaps, striving to find balance in our lives is precisely why we are living at this manic pace, chronically exhausted and always feeling we should be doing it all, and doing it well. Yet, we fall short because balancing it all is impossible.
Balance cannot be about controlling every element of our life. However, all aspects of our life are interconnected, so when one part is out of balance, it affects the whole. But the good news is when we improve one area of our lives, it brings all aspects into better balance. We all want our life to be purposeful, productive and passionate and as we align our thoughts, actions and time, we immediately come into better balance.
Yet, sometimes we feel like random victims of fate. We cannot always control work deadlines, health crises or family issues, but what we can control is our reaction and how well we go with the flow. There will always be periods of imbalance, where it feels like circumstances are conspiring against us. In all circumstances, we always have a choice – in how we react, and if we are willing to learn. If we resist learning a life lesson, it will return again and again, hammering it home, for what we resist, persists.
These moments of imbalance, when life is hard and seemingly unfair, are our greatest gifts. It is in trying times that we learn our own inner strength, grow our faith and ability to trust in ourselves. And knowing that although we cannot see the road ahead, the path will eventually become clear.
We can only define balance for ourselves. A well-balanced life means something different to all of us, as we all have different needs, desires and priorities. However, there are a few common denominators we all share that will help us achieve better balance.
True balance is about finding peace and joy in all you do, be it work, play and so on. True balance is about feeding your soul. While it is true that life is short, life can feel like a very long time if you do not enjoy your job, feel unseen in your relationships and over-burdened by responsibilities.
Never underestimate the power of asking “Why?” For some crazy reason, many of us go through life on auto-pilot, never stopping to question why we put our attention, time and energy where we do. No matter what the goal, we need to ask ourselves Why we’re doing this, or not doing that, and delve into our subconscious to find our true drive. Are we going through the motions, no longer caring as we once did? This is a death knell for careers, relationships and our well-being in general.
In this season of balance, ask yourself Why you do what you do, with honesty and fearlessness. Sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reasons, or vice versa. Often, we do what is expected, hoping to please others, leaving us feeling empty or downright angry when the results are a disappointment to everyone. When we stop and ask ourselves Why, addressing the true driving force behind our actions, we often experience a liberation of our soul. This new-found freedom allows us to focus on what we truly desire, bringing more balance and harmony to our life.
It is no coincidence that with the autumnal equinox, we are also entering Libra season. This astrological sign is notorious for seeking balance, harmony and flow. And the Aries full moon arrives only a few days after the equinox. Full moon are also the time when we can shine a spotlight on parts of us that might need to be brought into better balance.
This Aries full moon asks us to embrace our dark side. We all love the sunny parts of ourselves, but what about the dark, shadowy, repressed parts of our being? We all have deep, dark parts of us we would prefer to hide from the world and ourselves. When we bring those attributes to the light of day, under the full moon, we embrace what Carl Jung called our “Golden Shadow.” He believed these juicy bits of the real us are where our true creativity and innovation lie. Through fear and shame, we repress our shadow aspects, but underneath our deepest hurts and lack lie our greatest strength, talents and gifts. Finding balance in our own light and dark offer us opportunities to identify, understand and integrate our gifts fully so that we may become whole, empowered and balanced.
And the balance scales of Libra remind us we are all a mix of masculine and feminine, yin and yang, energy, regardless of gender. These two complementary energies exist in all of us, a continual ebb and flow, blending us into a balanced whole. We also see yin and yang energy rebalancing in the natural world through the change of seasons, as our summer ends gradually cooling into fall. It is a dynamic, ever changing flow, within us and all life. As we embrace our yang (male) energy, we are often rewarded by society, as this energy is about achieving, setting goals and powering through. However, it is in embracing our yin (female) energy that allows us to receive, open our hearts and intuition, as well as nourish our souls. According to Chinese medicine, true harmony comes from balancing our yin and yang energies.
When we work congruently with the seasons, moon and stars, our actions are supported, graceful and in alignment with the universe. And true balance becomes easier, and that is the perfect prescription for our lives.
