Balance

Taking classes at gym has brought me to the realization that balance is a given for most of us, but its strength needs to be built otherwise it diminishes over the years, which is why older people are more prone to falling. My body’s balance is now quite good, thanks to Magda my fantastic instructor, but I’m afraid I can’t say the same about my ability to balance things in my life.

I had a breakdown due to my inability to balance things (adulting can get so much guys) and was whining to Sam about it. I gave her what I thought could be a solution to my problems, which was a rather dramatic change type of solution. She dropped a truth bomb on me. She said that the answer wasn’t in changing things, but in upping my skill in balancing things because things would always be there and are likely to increase as I grow older (I know, someone needs to book her for a TEDtalk).

Balance is defined as an even distribution of weight enabling someone/something to remain upright and steady (Oxford). In this context, keeping balance means managing all aspects of your life in a way that keeps your life steady. It goes without saying that balance won’t look the same for all of us because we aren’t all blessed with the same things in life and we don’t all have the same capacity to handle things. This is why we must accept that at some point we will need to postpone things in order to maintain our balance.

Our generation has glorified being busy so much so that it is leading us to mental health issues. We are allowing ourselves to be pressurized into things that we have no capacity to manage. I came across a tweet that said something like ‘who said you have to finish a qualification, have a job, get married, and start a family all before the age of 30?’ Dr Sindi van Zyl (I’m obsessed with her) responded to a young man’s tweet with a thread on how her life is literally coming together ‘at the big age of 42’. She’s a doctor and drives an Aygo like me and she couldn’t be bothered - balance.

Balance calls for intention and a lot of self-evaluation. We need to be able to be brutally honest with ourselves, to be able to weigh things and prioritize, if we are to keep our lives steady and moving forward. I’m really just in the beginning stages of it, but wow is it beautiful when there’s harmony in one’s life.

Another thing that I was recently called out on was my inability to balance time. I live more in the past and future than I do in the present. Like right now I’m having no patience for the rest of 2018 because of my excitement for things that need to happen in 2019. Because of this, I risk missing out on all these last two months have to offer me, even prepare me for what’s coming. I need to be able to be grateful for yesterday and excited for tomorrow without letting that steal from the experience of today. I need to be able to live in today without regret of the past or fear for the future. That’s all what balance is about, appropriating time, emotions, resources, abilities, all in a way that leaves you sane.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for lacking balance in their teaching and practice. They were more concerned about giving tithes than they were about other matters of the law such as justice, mercy and faithfulness. I love this phrase in particular:
“You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23
This didn’t mean that tithes were less important but it only meant that they couldn’t practice them to substitute other things. This is key, we can’t use one thing to substitute another. What helps with this is understanding and appreciating the value of every little detail of our lives, this then leads to managing said things properly.

God is gloried in our lives when they are balanced because we live to fulfill our purpose and are at the same time blessings to those who form part of our lives.

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint." Proverbs 23:4