Janet Elson – Balance a place, or state of being?

Holistic approach to walking the earth

Most of us can agree that balance in our lives is a desirable thing. Many of us spend our lives with one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake trying to achieve that elusive sense of equilibrium, and we wonder why we’re not getting anywhere.

When we approach balance as a destination, we are always striving to get there. Balance becomes a solid and unchanging place, where things are measured and controlled in exactly the right proportions. As if we were climbing a mountain, we believe all toil will cease when we finally get to the top, and we can survey the world from our unassailable peak of perfection. Safe at last. If only we could get there.

But does this approach actually work? Check your own sense of balance. Try and stand on one leg. Notice how your centre of gravity has to shift in order to accommodate this new circumstance. You might find you have to adjust your arms in order to stay upright. Feel how the tiny muscles in your foot and ankle are constantly adjusting to keep your stance. What happens if you close your eyes? How do you have to adjust to hold your balance now? With each additional challenge, notice how your body and mind adjust to the new condition in order to remain balanced and upright.

True balance isn’t about static security. It’s a state of readiness. Balance is dynamic and moving, up to the minute and only concerned with what’s happening now. It requires us to be in relationship to everything around us, constantly adjusting to change in order to hold a calm, responsive centre. Can we find a still centre within the stream of constant change within and around us? If we can, then we find that we are ready for anything.