No doubt about it.
My life, just like yours, some­times feels as if it is spi­ral­ing out of con­trol.
"But what hap­pened?" you (and I) whine, "I thought I had achieved bal­ance!" The error is that we often think of bal­ance as if it were a des­ti­na­tion, a steady state, a safe nest­ing place.
Au con­traire.
Bal­ance is a dynamic state, requir­ing con­tin­u­ous energy and atten­tion.
To visu­al­ize bal­ance, think of a bar­rel rest­ing on its side with a board placed length­wise upon it.
Stand on that board, con­tin­u­ously aware, adjust­ing, shift­ing, try­ing your best to stay upright and even roll the bar­rel in a for­ward direc­tion while not tum­bling to the ground.
Bal­ance takes effort.
But how can we jump back up on our bal­ance beam when all energy is con­sumed just in keep­ing our heads above water? First we need to re-discover our sense of pro­por­tion, easy to lose in fatigue.
Pull back and assess your chal­lenges.
In the big scheme of things, often your loom­ing threats are in fact only puny and tran­sient incon­ve­niences.
Nei­ther I nor my loved ones are suf­fer­ing from a life-threatening ill­ness.
Finan­cially I will not need to change my career to sell­ing pen­cils on street cor­ners or dwell in a refrig­er­a­tor box.
Get a grip.
After the sense of pro­por­tion, man your bat­tle sta­tions and strip your self-care to the essen­tials.
This is no time to insist on bells and whis­tles, or a twenty-step good health plan.
Avoid food served through a car win­dow.
Instead, visit the gro­cery store salad bar and stock up on healthy frozen meals.
Get out­doors daily, albeit briefly, and enjoy the changes of the sea­sons.
'Hit the hay' at a rea­son­able hour, insist­ing on eight hours of sleep.
Make the time for thirty min­utes of sweaty exer­cise as well as brain set­tling Tai Chi or med­i­ta­tion daily.
Your choices in flame-out? Dis­tress or De-Stress.
Choose to place your focus on self care, and invest your energy in your­self.
You will regain your bal­ance.
This too shall pass.