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“What am I balancing in my life at the moment?” Being extremely busy it is probably a time to stand still and reflect on the priorities I am balancing in life. I am still working slowly through the book “Your soul zodiac” and currently I am reading about Libra. A topic of keen interest to me since I am myself a Libra. I do believe we are perpetually in a process of balancing priorities. It is wrong to assume that live is about balance where balance is static…rather life is a process of balancing. We are actively making changes to our lives in slight adjustments to new and neglected priorities. Since I always want to do many things I inevitably get to points where some things get forgotten and life pushes me into a direction where priorities are skewed.

One of the most important balancing acts is that of maintaining a healthy life style. Finding the balance between sitting at an office working hard to achieve professional goals and at the same time having the time to exercise. In my last few weeks my work environment has shifted so dramatically into the desired direction that my physical exercising is lacking. I do primarily Yoga and Tai Chi for my physical health and I simply neglected my efforts as a result. I doubt if my life will self-correct in terms of professional work pressure in the next two months. Balancing back to a proper disciplined physical regime will take substantial planning and will power.

On a mental level I try to balance again work demands with time for meditation. Even with in this regard the wave of work has brought my meditation practices to a minimum. I feel almost too tired to meditate properly. I especially appreciate the simplicity of the 5 Reiki principles, of which I remind myself daily in the morning. It takes less than a minute to stand still and remind myself: Just for today I will not worry, I will not get angry, I will count my blessings, I will do my work and I will be good to all living creatures.  As a matter of fact it can be said in about ten seconds and make a significant change in how I approach my day.  I have been writing more poetry in the last few weeks which was a way of balancing mentally between analytical thinking in my profession with delving into the harmony of beauty that can be invoked by writing poetry. My mental frame of mind is constantly strengthened with my Stoic focus on attempting to live a virtuous life at all times. Working at eliminating vice and developing virtues as a habit provides an incredibly strong base for finding a mental balance.

The base provided by virtue also assist in the balancing of my emotions. I am in the fortunate position to have people very dear to me that frequently attempt to upset my emotional balance. As a Libra that loves to please people, it is often unsettling when people arround me gets emotionally angry, upset or offensive. I naturally prefer a state of peace and harmony where everybody works together. In the last year I focused on being less affected by other people’s emotions and drama. It does not make me numb to them but it allows me to approach them with greater compassion and understanding.  It takes considerable strenght of character not to be drawn in to the emotional upheavels of others but rather to remain in a calm and peaceful state.  Sometimes emotional moments can be totally void of any reason and that used to tempt me into becoming frustrated and even angered for not being able to find that point of balance and harmony I am seeking so avidly. But I am working on it and I find more and more that I can allow people their own complexity and choice in how they deal with their emotions.

Professionally I have several projects and priorities competing at the moment for my dedicated attention.  These priorities are much more driven by external factors than I would like to acknowledge. As a Stoic one tries to buffer yourself against external winds so that you can maintain your course. In a sense you want to host your sails in the wind irrespective of the direction of the wind. That is truly the key to a life of balancing external forces so that they do not perturb too much the direction you are going but rather just allow you adapt to keep your original course of action.

So how do we live a life of balancing:

1. Approach balance as a verb not a state to be achieved.
2. Balance the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of your life.
3. Maintain an awareness of how life moves and shifts in your life.
4. Be flexible to adjust to changes in your life, opportunities and momentum.
5. Understand what is truly important to you.
6. It is ok to neglect some priorities for a while but do not forget or abandon them.
7. A small action everyday can become the vocal point for balancing the larger part of your life.
8. It is easier to balance priorities if you keep up a healthy set of habits as a base for balancing.
9. Solidifying virtues in your life as the central balancing force and buffer against external influences.
10. Internal balancing is essential to balance external conditions and situations.

Other bloggers blogging about balancing:

1. A matter of balancing – a lovely blog about stretching ourselves.
2. Balancing blogging and life in 8 simple steps – a well written tongue in the cheek view on how to balance priorities for blogging.
3. Change and balance – a blog on the realisation of a need to balance.
4. Balance – a must read qoute.