Day 3
balance
Balance is tree pose, the same number in two columns, the rocks precariously stacked beside the river. Many of us strive for balance, and hopefully, if only temporarily, achieve it.
Balance is first, the acceptance that there are opposing forces. That we do not exist on one side or the other of a line between sacred and profane, good and evil, right and wrong. Balance is not static, but is the constant re-positioning of molecules, cells, muscles, numbers, so that things remain upright or steady. To achieve balance you do not choose one thing over the other, but reconcile yourself to both.
Much of what we learn in this culture, even and especially from our gurus and religions, is to rid ourselves of the bad and the ugly so that we might be only good and beautiful. This is affirmed by the fact that we don’t post the first selfie; we take a hundred and choose the “best” one.
Imagine yourself sitting in a chair, palms up. In one hand you hold all of the things that you consider wrong, bad, less desirable. In the other hand you hold all the things you consider right, good, lovely and desirable.
You are the center; the only center you will ever really know. You are attached to and formed by all you hold in your hands. I think we can agree that it is unlikely you will ever hold only the good. This is not because there is something wrong with you, but because the bad stuff is useful, helpful, teaching you things.
Balance is important because it steadies us as we work with what is in our hands, the good, and the bad. Sometimes we need a steady stance between a daily yoga practice and apathetically watching TV, or between too many cocktails and a strict juice diet. Without that steadiness between these things, we live in a state of anxiety, or swing between self-loathing and fear of losing the Good we have found or achieved.
Take a deep breath and listen to yourself. Your center is there and will let you know what is happening in that sacred place between what you want to be and what you want to abandon. Take a deep breath and know your fear, and know your strength. Inhabit the space between: balance.
