Balance Is Key

“Balance is key”: A phrase I’m sure you’ve heard a million times before, but how does one actually achieve balance? How many times have you been contemplating any two sides of a spectrum to finally conclude, “well, it really is all about balance.”? Examples:

• It’s so important to stick to a routine and get to bed at a consistent, ideally early time. It’s also important to go out and do fun social things and stay up past your bedtime. The solution? Balance.

• You want to be there for your kids and show up to their activities, demonstrating your support, AND you want to have your own life, activities, and show yourself support. The solution? Balance.

• Eating whole foods is so vital for your health and wellbeing, you feel so much better when you stick to a diet low in added sugars and processed foods. But, delicious desserts are fun ways to celebrate holidays. Do you go for the piece of pie on Thanksgiving? Of course! Because, balance.

Okay, so you get the point. Balance really is key. So, how does one find balance? Well, it might be easier to recall a time where your life felt remarkably unbalanced.

Recently, I went on the road for about five weeks following Widespread Panic on tour. I visited seven cities for music, stayed in five additional cities between shows, attended FIFTEEN Widespread Panic concerts (and one non-WSP concert), and traveled about 3,000 miles. I got to live out 19-year old Dannie’s dream, and it was truly amazing. However, my life was incredibly out of balance for those entire five weeks. One of my biggest lessons I’m taking away from the experience is how important balance is, and what the consequences are in my life when I don’t prioritize balance. 

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Can I experience too much of a good thing? Apparently so, if that good thing isn’t balanced with other good things. I have a visualization that may be helpful…

Consider the 3-4 things that fuel your soul or FEED Your Bliss. When, where, and what are you doing when you feel the most connected to Source, the most like your Divine Self, the most at peace? How do you feel the most spiritual? Mine are participating in yoga class, spending time alone in nature, attending live music events, and completing my spiritual practices each day. Whatever you come up with is perfect, but aim to have about 3-4. Think of each activity as making a point on a shape. If you came up with three, you’ll have a triangle, and four will give you a rectangle. However much time you spend doing one activity will grow that point. And, if your goal is balance, we want to aim for an equilateral triangle or a square. 

After this summer, my live music cup floweth over. But, I only got to do one solo hike, one yoga class, and write out morning affirmations a few times over a 41-day period. My live music point of the rectangle was HUUUUUGE and my other points were practically nonexistent, giving me a shape that looked like this:

We can all agree, that’s not very balanced. Recognizing this, I’ve been spending the last three weeks attending LOTS of yoga classes and fitting in lots of solo hikes and walks, hugging a lot of trees and grounding my feet in the earth. I’ve also been doing my spiritual practices each day and have weekly meetings scheduled with my Spiritual Coach. My Bliss rectangle looks a little more like this now:

Still, not quite a square, but much closer! If life is feeling out of balance for you, which may show up as chaos, difficulty, stress, or exhaustion, I recommend you draw your shape. Are you giving your soul what you need to center, connect, and balance yourself?

There’s a chance you may not be doing any of the things that FEED Your Bliss. In that case, I highly recommend making a date with yourself to do something for YOU that helps you feel balanced. Hug a tree, go for a walk, swim, bike, go to church, read, cook, take a bath, dance, bake, write, play music, travel, pet a dog, paint, just do something for you! 

I’m learning that balance IS key, and that key opens up my inner peace, strengthens my self-worth, and amplifies my bliss!

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Journal Prompts:

1. Write down the activities that FEED Your Bliss and draw your current shape based on how much time you have recently spent doing those activities.

2. What point(s) need more of your attention and time? Where are you out of balance?

3. How are you going to make time to do the things that help you achieve balance?

4. What feelings & emotions come up when you feel out of balance? Balanced? Use emotions to help communicate imbalances to yourself before it gets too far out of control.