Balance

It’s a gift of our design, this thing called balance. It’s one of the gifts I discovered when I was in the habit of being grateful every night before falling asleep.  This was a discipline that should be resurrected, I think. The rule was clear: Before going to sleep, give thanks for three new things experienced during the day.  The first week or two, it was easy. Then, I had to think more about it. Suddenly, I was coming up with things like hot showers, clean sheets, cold milk, the taste of peanut butter and bananas, full-range arm motion, and yes, balance.

Balance enters our lives through various definitions and nuances. As noted above, it can mean equilibrium. It’s also a term used by accountants as they balance the books. We strive for a balanced diet. We balance our time between work and rest. We balance our options when making decisions. 

I don’t know about you, but I consume a lot of news. So, I look to various providers and try to balance what one source decrees with the proclamations of other authorities. The goal here is to keep me centered; to keep my opinions fair and open-minded while acknowledging that the definition of ‘news’ has changed over the years leaning more toward opinion than empirical fact.

I realize that emotion and bias enter the field of news from both the reporting and the receiving end of things. This inevitably promotes negative reactions. I wish to balance this with the positive. 

A short recording was included in a USA Today news article that caught my attention. The innocence of a child excited to see her dad can suppress negative feelings in mere moments. The 35-second video served to balance a little girl’s love with the selfish infighting and name-calling children who occupy our nation’s capital city. (Yes, fully aware that I did the same thing here that they do.)

That article referred me to a link called “HumanKind”.  This site collects heart-warming videos and shares them on various social media platforms. I first subscribed to the YouTube option. 

Then, the crazy started. I was verifying the link for this story and was presented with the before-viewing advertising: A simply vile and disparaging political ad. Why did I not see that coming? Well, I might have been irritated but since the irony was so pronounced, I laughed instead. Just so you know, I have replaced the YouTube subscription with the Instagram option. 

I have learned that in this world, in this culture, in these times, it is very difficult to keep yourself balanced. It takes concentration and work. The effort is rewarded with the ability to be grateful, to be compassionate, to be human, and to be kind.

Now I realize that there are several sources that promote life-balancing actions. This video link is just one. It might be that you would prefer to read a story instead. I noticed one a while back that might be interestingly helpful.

It was written by Robert Fulghum (Author: All I Really Need I Learned in Kindergarten) and features his daughter Molly. It could be a pay-attention-to-your work-life/home-life balance. Or it might just be something much more important.

In any event, it is probably a good time to review Colossians 3:1-17.