"Balance is a constant movement in and out of equilibrium. If you try to hold on to it, you will fall."
Philippe Petit, who in 1974 danced a quarter of a mile high on a wire strung between the Twin Towers of New York, confessed to a friend that as much as he strives for perfect stillness on the wire—strives to be perfectly balanced—it is simply impossible1. It is impossible even for the most elite of equilibrists: daring wirewalkers who cross the Grand Canyon, walk blindfolded, hop with baskets tied to their feet, or tip toe en pointe.
Here is the lesson: in the present at least we are never balanced, we are always balancing.
I believe the same is true of our metaphorical life-balance. If we strive to have a perfectly “balanced” life and hold on to that perfect balance, we will most likely fail. There are times and seasons of our life; we’ll almost always be out of balance in one area of our life or another, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing: forward momentum only comes when we move outside our current point of balance.
One of my favorite tightwire balance metaphors/applications explains why that constant movement in and out of equilibrium is actually good thing: The Tightrope Walker: Achieving Relative Balance in Your Life. I highly recommend it.
Let me end with one of the summary points from the article:
1 The Tightrope Walker by Hermine Demoraine (1989).
Here is the lesson: in the present at least we are never balanced, we are always balancing.
I believe the same is true of our metaphorical life-balance. If we strive to have a perfectly “balanced” life and hold on to that perfect balance, we will most likely fail. There are times and seasons of our life; we’ll almost always be out of balance in one area of our life or another, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing: forward momentum only comes when we move outside our current point of balance.
One of my favorite tightwire balance metaphors/applications explains why that constant movement in and out of equilibrium is actually good thing: The Tightrope Walker: Achieving Relative Balance in Your Life. I highly recommend it.
Let me end with one of the summary points from the article:
"Don’t be upset that perfect balance does not exist, for it is that very lack of perfect balance that will actually propel you forward."
1 The Tightrope Walker by Hermine Demoraine (1989).
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