Note from Ilana – April 2017

How’s your Balancing Act?

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton

Any Libra’s in the house?  Your sign is the scale, which signifies balance. I’m not sure how much that “signage” plays into a balanced life, but I do know that the more balanced you might feel, you’re probably feeling more freedom.  For me, and in my work, I am often reminded that what works for some people does not necessarily work for others.  Or one person’s idea of balance may not constitute anything remotely balanced from another person’s perspective.  I, for one can easily find myself completely unbalanced when overwhelmed by the internal or the external.  Holding onto a sense of balance can be quite the challenge.

So, what does it mean to be balanced and how do we find our balance? To me it means having a handle on the countless rudiments in life and not feeling pulled too hard in any direction. Basically, feeling calm, grounded, clear-headed, and motivated. The fundamentals in balancing are usually divided by the internal and external. Oftentimes, we focus on one more than the other, such as, focusing on external things like work, relationships and undertakings and forget about what’s going on inside our mind and heart. On the other hand, maybe we’re spending too much time being self-involved that life just passes by and we miss out on the experience of living.

In researching the act of balance, I found a guideline, defining the Internal from the External:

Internal (Mind, Heart, Health)

• Mind: Challenging yourself intellectually vs. creating opportunities for your mind to rest
• Heart: Giving love vs. receiving love
• Health: Eating, drinking, exercising properly vs. resting and treating yourself to some extra yummies

External (Work, Social, Family, Fun)

• Work: Pushing yourself to achieve goals vs. seeing the bigger picture and enjoying the ride
• Social: Satisfying your social desires vs. taking time for yourself
• Family: Fulfilling your familial responsibilities vs. creating healthy boundaries
• Fun: Allocating time for things you enjoy doing vs. making sure you don’t overdo it

Both ends of the scale are positive when not taken to an extreme and always take time to check in with yourself to see if you are feeling balanced.

Like riding a bike…. finding your sense of balance can be the greatest path to happiness and fulfillment.

Thank you, Ilana Moses,
Founder and CEO of FSA