I have read several articles about “Finding Balance” in our lives. The articles are interesting and well-intended, and there are those for whom the information is helpful. I find no wrong or right approach in any of the articles. However, I appreciate the information as being valuable contributions to the total body of knowledge and discussion on the subject and that’s a good thing.
I believe that when considering changes in life or life style as a way to make life better, it is a good idea to bring into focus “Being” in Time. Let’s start with the reality that the present moment lasts but an instant, which is PRECISELY the duration of Life itself. In other words, we are “Always” at a point in Time we have NEVER been alive before. That point is the constant instant between the past and the future; we know as the Present. At best, a search for balance is a “moving “proposition since the Present moment is constantly advancing. Questions about what are a simultaneous experience (life in time), involve the thoughts we entertain as we remember the Past or imagine the Future while being in the Present. I call this this “Thought-Surfing” and it may be what is suggestive about a concept of balance we should have during our lives.
Today, more than ever before, we’re constantly distracted and moving so fast, we keep missing the Present; we keep missing the Now. Have you ever felt dizzy as in being spun around and around then losing your balance? Well, we are similarly affected by Modernity, but in an insidious way. It is not easy to live a “balanced life” with all the distractions in a modern world that is seemingly spinning out of control and at speeds that only continue to increase.
Nevertheless and whether you realize it or not, you have control. You don’t have to keep up with anybody or anything. Still, chances are that because of the strong influences of modernity, trying to live at your own pace only adds to the stress. Nevertheless, the reality is that you can live at your own pace. The question is, “do you really want to”? Make the commitment to choose your own pace and where you are not in total control, pace yourself as best you can. I use the word “choose” because more times than not a choice is available to us. You don’t have to go with the flow. Preferably, you can flow with your own “Go”. This is just another way of saying, “live at your own pace”.
Remember, we live our “Entire” life in the “Present” which always equals the total sum of all our experiences lived up until this moment. There is only one Time (Now O’ Clock) and only one Life, making us “Whole” in the Now. Only you live in your skin and only you see your life through your eyes and what matters is that your life makes sense to you; not to someone else. Life is not a “One view fits all” experience”.
I am of the mind that the only true “Balance” there is, is in the simultaneous occurrence of Life in Time; It is on this razor thin edge that we live “All” the time. I believe that it would be helpful if we were more mindful of this truth; this reality. We should pay attention to our present reality as we pause for a moment from time to time, stop Thought-Surfing, select channel “Now” and be fully aware of our “Being” in our own presence. A lot of people select and watch The Life Time channel, sports and movies about other people we don’t even know. Take some time to watch your own Life channel. At the least, here you are “Always” the producer, director and the star.
Modern life is a constant torrent of distractions and trying to keep up is impossible. This is not an accident. This is so by design and it may be why it would seem that we cannot help ourselves when it comes to “Thought-Surfing”. But, this is a consequence of living a hurried and distracted life. It is no wonder why, at the end of the day, we’re so stressed, exhausted and feeling like our bodies just log off instead of shutting down. Ask yourself, “to what end and at what expense”? Trying to keep up can only be at the expense of the Present; your ENTIRE life. I remind you that we are always living our entire lives in the Present; not parts or phases of it. By the way, we also die in the Present.
I define what balance is in my own life and I just live accordingly. I know that there is not, there never was and there never will be anyone better than me at being “Me”. I do not have to use someone else’s formula. I have my own and it is unique to me. When they were small, I gave my children the following advice, “You don’t have to be one of “Them”. There is nothing wrong with being one of “You”. I know what I must to do to make sense of my own life and that’s simply doing what I need to do. Alternatively, I put off what I can, realizing that I will not be able to do all I want or need to do even if I lived a thousand years. There will ALWAYS be things left undone regardless of how much I do or how long I live. This is what the ultimate balance means to me; always living on the edge of Time and moving forward from this moment on. Still, I try to remain mindful that in the end, the reality is that we do not run out of Time; we simply run out of Life.
I leave you with a couple of quotes.
Purpose and Passion:
Life and Time are two parallel lines on a single page, where stories of Life have endings; where Time does not. Let your story be told as one live with Purpose and Passion”.
Now:
Yes. We live one moment at a time, in “Time”. But we do so, in one continuous “Now”. Realize and appreciate that you are living your “Entire” life in the Now and that Life lasts but an instant”.
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