I think a lot about balance these days. Not just the physical kind, though I pay close attention to that when doing Tai Chi. (I have discovered that I have a habit of shifting most of my weight into my right hip and side, and unless I pay attention and shift back, I will be off-balance when I do the one-legged stances.)
But balance is a necessary feature of all aspects of life. For example, we gathered a contingent of family members for the eclipse and the night before we had a meal together with ten of us. We gathered around the table, ate lots of food, drank lots of wine, and had great conversations until past almost all our bedtimes. We ranged in age from 16 to 90.
It was wonderful and made me so aware of the fact that human beings are a social species and need to spend time together in such groups.
But we also need a lot of one-on-one time and time alone. And the people we need to spend time with vary – family, close friends, people we want to know better, people we need to work with, lovers. The exact mix of groups, friends, and time alone for each person is a little different. Some always need a group around; some need most of their time alone.
We also planned this gathering of family – blended families, in fact – so that even if the eclipse was a bust due to weather, it would be balanced with good times with each other. Our eclipse viewing was around fast-moving clouds, so we didn’t always see the sun disappearing, but I particularly enjoyed the fast sunset and sunrise that surrounded us before and after totality.
Finding ways of balance that keep us happy, that’s important. Continue reading “Looking for Balance”…