Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Living a full life, by giving time to what matters, is a balancing act. Gary Keller

Many of us are looking for balance and wonder why it eludes us. Would we even know a balanced life if we saw one? No one that I know and envy has a balanced life. We need to be like a ballerina who is balanced because of the counterbalancing she does. She looks weightless because of enormous effort. Making life look easy is an art that hides the hard work of real life. An easy life that doesn’t require effort inspires no one.

Many of us aspire to more in our lives but we look down on those that get more without effort. We may buy lottery tickets wanting the big win with no effort but how would it be if we got it? All that makes life worthwhile might seem so unimportant and insignificant in the shadow of fifty million dollars.

I do think if we don’t have a pursuit worth pursuing how sad would life be. Growing up on a farm was a good metaphor for life. If we didn’t plant we didn’t reap. If we didn’t plant at the right time, and harvest at the right time all the effort was wasted. We couldn’t balance our planting and harvesting throughout the year. In planting time the focus was on planting. In harvest time the focus was on harvesting.

We need to do this in our lives no matter what we are pursuing. My time of raising children is over and even though I have more time now (it seems) giving them more time in their adult years is not productive. Now is their time for planting and reaping. It is their time for standing on their own two feet.

Balance in life, like in body, is not a given, we need to work for it. Unknown

Now is my time to spend more and more time writing. Counterbalancing is still important. We can’t let everything else slide while we pursue something. A relationship still needs time and attention. Our bodies still need exercise. I was reminded of this as I’ve spent so much time behind the computer editing. My right leg(hip) started hurting. Not enough walking, maybe I’ve been eating the wrong things. It’s time to take notice, walk more, and eat better.

In “The One Thing” author Gary Keller tells us we need to figure out what the one thing is we can do that will make a difference. Can we figure out the one thing and focus on that before we let other things call for our attention and take our focus away from what we should actually do?

If we want to write, we need to write but there are many things we can do when we are pretending to write. Unless we are writing, we are not writing. If our job is to bring in more business a phone call may be the most important thing we need to do. Every day there is one thing that is the most important. If we figure out what that is and do it we put ourselves in the position of building the life we want.

If we do this in every area of our life we can be effective. What is the one thing we could do today that would improve our relationship? What is the one thing we could do today that would improve our health? What is the one thing we could do today that would improve our business, finances, or job? What is the one thing we can do today that is the most important thing? There is one and if we figure it out our life will feel in balance even though it is probably counterbalancing and learning to juggle the important balls. We need to remember some balls are rubber and some balls are glass.

If we drop the work ball we can usually pick it back up. If we drop the relationship and family ball sometimes it shatters into so many pieces it is beyond repair. Often relationships may seem shattered beyond repair but with a little maintenance, time, and attention they can be repaired and may even be stronger in the broken places.

What is the one thing we can do today that will make the biggest difference in our life?

I’m not sure about complete balance. I think that’s an enlightened stage of life. For normal folks, balance really means counterbalance. Notice when life gets out of whack for you and correct it. Unknown

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. Albert Einstein

The creativity inherent in life is the counterbalance or tragedy, it affirms our belief that life is a good thing and provides a rich potential source of human meaning. Greg Graffin

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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