My husband and I own land in the country, west of Nashville. where one day we will build our “forever” home. While he did some other things at the land this weekend, I went exploring. I carried a walking stick in case I saw anything unexpected … like snakes. Wild animals have also been spotted in the area so it seemed like a good idea.
I chose a big stick. It was kind of heavy so I kept shuffling it back and forth between my hands. By accident, I discovered when I grabbed it in the middle, there was almost no weight at all. The stick practically carried itself. One end balanced out the other, compared to how much more weight it had when I was carrying it by one end.
Troubles are like that. Life is like that. Maintaining balance in our perspectives neutralizes anything disturbing by weighing it against all that is wonderful and good. The stress from heavy things can be significantly reduced when we are diligent about staying centered. We see life more accurately. Sure, there are plenty of things we would change, but there are also plenty of things that are just right.
Everything will feel lighter if we’re holding it from a balanced perspective. This is true for everyone, in every season. We can always find gifts to be grateful for to restore a balanced perspective, regardless of our present challenges.
When we are holding difficult circumstances too closely, life is going to feel extra heavy. The thing we’re dwelling on is going to serve as a weight. Our perspectives become distorted, how we feel is distorted. Life is more of a struggle because we’ve set up camp right next to the trouble. We’re far from our center.
Believe it or not, we’re not any more grounded when we’re jumping for joy deliriously, ignoring everything else. A therapist once told me to never get too low but also, never let myself get too high. That was the craziest thing I’d ever heard. Slowly, I figured out what he meant. Euphoria blinds us to caution and can distort rational thought. We may not weigh choices and consequences accurately.
Balanced in the middle is where we are most stable. No matter what’s going on around us, if we stay close to our center, we’ve created enough space in every direction to contemplate our responses, instead of reacting impulsively from being too close.
Higher perspective is built in, simply by our positioning. When we’re feeling extreme emotion, we can let that serve as a red flag to make sure we’re grounded, and if not, to move towards more balance. It doesn’t mean we never lean one way or the other, but we need to know what being centered, grounded and balanced looks and feels like, so we know when the opposite is true.
As soon as I made this discovery, the word ‘fulcrum’ came to me. One explanation of a fulcrum is that it balances the effort and the load. A human example is our head and neck. As long as the load (head) is balanced, the fulcrum (neck) has virtually no strain at all. We want to use our spiritual fulcrum to maintain life balance, regardless of the loads we have to carry.
What are ways that you center yourself and stay grounded?
Walking for me is one of my ways back to balance, which often leads to writing (dictating) what I’m observing. This blog is the first writing of many to come from the tranquility that surrounds me in the country. The wind is the loudest thing I can hear.
I also find my center:
• soaking in the tub
• cooking and baking
• cleaning (yes, but don’t tell anyone, especially not my husband)
• curled up with a great book
• relaxing in a hammock
• painting
• singing and dancing to music
• journaling
• praying and meditating
• arranging flowers
• playing with cats
• having a mindful conversation (as opposed to a phone call while multitasking)
• staring at a flower up close
• marveling at the explosion of autumn color
• cloud gazing
Those are some of the places I find my balance and use my spiritual fulcrum. What are yours?
We can’t always change what’s happening, but we can always change how we’re holding it. And that can make all the difference...
