Balance
Finding balance. Striking balance. Maintaining balance. We talk about wanting more balance in our lives. What can we do to maintain a sense of balance once we find it?
I find this to be easier on retreat than it is at home. I am working a lot, writing many hours each day, typically starting at sunup. But I also take an online yoga class each morning, practicing and staying connected to my yoga community in northern Vermont. Nothing gets in my way of doing this. I never have to miss class because of other commitments. I have no other commitments—no appointments, no errands that need doing,
This was true for me at the height of the pandemic, as well--once I left the job. I went five weeks during the winter of 2021 without missing a day of yoga online. I was in the woods every day as well—on skis, on snowshoes, in boots. I followed a forty-day meditation program, with a friend in Amsterdam. We were both at home. We were all at home. We had more time to devote to activities that nurtured us. I cooked elaborate meals, something I love to do, every night. There was a balance to my days that I sometimes daydream of now that we are out and about again. I saw my friends as often as I do now, sometimes on a screen but often in the woods, but I rarely drove my car. Once every five days, I ventured out for groceries. Much of the time I gained by staying home was spent on quiet activities that kept me healthy, both in mind and in body. I don’t imagine I am alone in sometimes missing the simplicity of that time.
Here in residence in Costa Rica, as a writer, I write many pages a day, yet I still have time to swim, walk, read, and practice yoga. I am eating well, but I am not shopping or cooking. I have finished a writing project begun three years ago but put on hold while I wrote my story of me and Colleen. I am enjoying nature, every day, and I am simply being.
How can I bring this sense of balance home? There will be a return to responsibilities, including a big project that has been put on hold for two weeks. There will be stressful situations to navigate. There will be errands to run and appointments to keep. But, still, there will be time every day when I can choose what to do. How much news might I choose to read, given the amount of morning time that can take? Would that time be better spent in meditation, in reflection, on writing? My friendships feed me, but the more time spent talking, the less time spent on more introverted activities. What might I choose to hold onto and let go of, to maintain a balance closer to what I have here on retreat?
Reflection question: What do you do to find and hold onto balance in your life? What might you choose to do less of so you can do more of something else you want to fit into your days?