Balance

There are five areas of my life that I believe need regular attention, feeding and nurturing, in order for me to feel, happy, well, and energetic. They are:

1. Spirit
2. Mind
3. Physical Health
4. Physical Appearance
5. Physical Environment

They overlap and mesh together. If one area is neglected the others suffer too.

Nurturing my spirit means nurturing my faith, but it also means building and maintaining close friendships and family relationships. It means, regularly taking in beauty and regularly creating something beautiful whether with words, paint, or in decorating my house, which is one of the ways Spirit overlaps with Physical Environment. Maybe it means sometimes going someplace else for a fresh view, getting out in nature.

Feeding my mind means learning new things, participating in interesting conversation, reading, researching, exploring, and discovering. It also means answering the negative thoughts that plague me. To do that, I have to engage my spirit, and know who I am. Another overlap.

If my health is bad, of course the other areas suffer too. To keep myself healthy I need to eat well (and less!), move more, sleep, stretch, hydrate, and feed my mind and spirit.

When my appearance is in bad shape, my confidence decreases. I spend less time doing the things out in the world that keep me healthy in mind, body, and spirit. The negative thoughts that make my mind less healthy increase.

I experience a similar decline when my physical environment is out of order. When my house is messy or I am embarrassed by its condition I don't invite people over. I feel less like creating beautiful things, and forget decorating it! I tell myself I can't make time for me while I have so much housework to get done, so no exercise, no lounging around reading a good book, no going out, but I rebel and ignore the housework anyway.

Because of this overlap between all the areas of my life, I am jumping around with my challenges, taking little steps in each area instead of concentrating on only one. I used to think, "If I could just get physically healthy, everything else would fall into place," or "If I could just get my house perfectly organized I'd finally feel completely peaceful." I've gotten nowhere with that thinking, though, so instead I am aiming for balance, knowing that balance can be achieved even when, at times, one area needs all of my attention, so long as I remember to come back to the other areas when the crisis passes.

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh