True Balance Is Not Itself

Balance doesn’t always look like balance.

It’s normal to get behind on some area of life, to have neglected our finances, our family, even our health – for reasons of time, overwhelm, or simply lack of desire. It’s human.

When this happens – when we get behind – usually balance can’t be picked up right where we left off. We may have a period of making-up or catching-up to do – a period where the area in question will be given more than the normal amount of required attention, while the others areas will merely have to be maintained.

This is not only a response to the human tendency to get “off track” – but should be seen as just part of the natural cycle of life.

In life, whether we are excellent at balancing all areas, or whether we suck at it, there are periods of intensity and periods of maintaining. Nobody should be able to have perfect control of every single domain at all times – unless they were a robot (which, with the help of Elon Musk, may not be outside the realm of possibility)!

So, until the technology of bio-A.I. merging develops, we humans must still deal with this reality of just not being able to get to everything all of the time. But consciously using the principle of intensity-maintaining patterns can help us become fuller (and more fulfilled) versions of ourselves.

In the context of creativity (or, as I like to call it, Craftsmanship), we may often find that we’ve neglected our creative impulses for days, months, or even years. When that happens, it’s time to enter into a period of intensity in regard to our creativity. The inner Craftsman (or Craftswoman) is a true part of every individual, and there is a multitude of benefits as to why we should get more in touch with him or her.

Remember, this doesn’t mean you have to neglect the other, more tangible (and for most of us, pragmatic) areas. The key is, once we’ve identified that our inner Craftsman needs attention, to carve out a consistent way to make that happen one day at a time. We can still maintain our health, or finances, our relationships, and our career during this process.

To sum up, when we notice that any area of our life has gone by the wayside, which is completely natural and integral to the state of being human, we can then implement actions of intensity in the area in question, while still maintaining the other areas. The end goal is Balance, so sometimes, in order to restore balance, the scale which has gone all the way to one side must be tipped all the way over to the other before gently being let back towards evenness. This may not look like balance in that first moment of drastic tipping, but perhaps it’s better to think of balance as a pursuit or an ideal rather than an all-constant fact.

Is it possible to engage in intensity in more than one area? I personally believe it is. But I do think there is a limit to the number of areas the given human can manage at the same time.

How many areas can you intensely engage in at once over a given time period? Have you ever tried intensity, or have you mostly just maintained?

Leave your answer in the comment box below!