Balance is an illusion

The illusion of balance is a tricky one.  

Do you think about wanting balance in your life?  Work-life balance?  Emotional balance?  Others?

These are such common phrases, and I use them regularly - both personally and professionally.  

This past weekend a workshop presenter, Walt Hampton, shattered this notion of balance, stating, in effect, "Balance is an illusion."  My ears perked up - I was curious.  

He went on to describe:

Balance is a moment-to-moment experience.  We are constantly losing our balance - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually - and then seeking to find our center again.   

He countered that what we label as "balance" is actually that moment to moment focus on finding our center that is always moving and that there does not exist a state of ongoing balance which we can "find" and "maintain."

What do you think?  

Whatever we call it, that moment to moment process of noticing our state of imbalance and returning to center is particularly important for engaging in social justice advocacy in an ongoing way.  

In the past week alone, we have honored anniversaries of the tragic hate crime murders of Ahmaud Arbery (Feb. 23, 2020) and Srinivas Kuchibhotla (Feb. 22, 2017), mourned 500,000+ deaths from COVID in the United States and 2.48 million deaths worldwide, and witnessed the chaos, struggle, and death in the aftermath of an historic winter storm and lack of resources for those most in need.  

Our emotional world will continuously rock as we engage in the attention and awareness of inequity.  How could it not?  The disparity, even in tragedy, is evident anywhere we look.  

We need ways to return, again and again, to our center.  To our purpose and passion.  To our driving dedication and perseverance.  To hope.  To turning our compassion into action.

That's why creating space for all emotions, connection, and community are such an essential part of this work.  We cannot make ongoing, sustained progress to challenge and change the systems that maintain and perpetuate these injustices without refining our heartbreak and agony into emotional fuel.  

When you are overwhelmed, discouraged, pessimistic, furious, disgusted, and heartbroken, take the opportunity to find that next moment of "balance", however changeable it may be. 

You cannot engage in this work without being affected by it, and it is the heart-centered nature of this work that truly makes change possible.  For more evidence of this, check out the story of Srinivas's widow and the amazing work she has channeled through her grief (story with link below).

You matter.  You can make a difference.  I'm so thankful you're here.