Maintaining balance: finding our ‘honey flow’
New beginnings, from jobs to relationships, bring exciting challenges, but finding balance can be tough.
I love watching kids on a balance bike, moving along, tipping from left to right to find those moments of complete glide and balance. Life is a bit like that, in fact Albert Einstein once said: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
Balance = achieving a balance of pleasant and unpleasant feelings, at least most of the time, so that we can have positive mental wellbeing. In fact Dr. Maureen Gaffney in her book Flourishing talks about a least flourishing ratio of 3:1 of positive to negative thoughts to be happy.
Imbalance creates tension, judgement, anxiety, unease and unhappiness.
Finding balance and more specifically spiritual balance connects us to our inner being; our true essence. Courageous radical acceptance of self and others allows us to better respond to life's challenges. For me, spiritual balance requires practicing one or some of the following on a daily basis:
Mindfulness and presence
Self-compassion: fostering empathy and kindness for ourselves and others
Maintaining well-being: yoga, dance, sports, reading, baths, eating healthy, meditation, knitting, gardening, etc.
Practicing gratitude and appreciating the good things in our lives
Connecting to our values and beliefs to achieve personal growth
Living a more meaningful life with greater fulfilment, purpose, and connection.
Connecting with others on a deeper level
Spending time in nature
Creative or reflective writing
It’s not one thing, its many elements and layers that come together to nurture the inner self. The layers need care, compassion and tenderness with self. This allows us to take external action in a healthy way. Taking external action without tending to our inner self can lead to losing touch with our own essence, and our creative spiritual selves.
Balance is the dance between leaning in and letting go. It involves receiving and seeking, responding and not reacting. We seek it through working and playing, having fun and finding purpose, planning ahead and being in the moment.
Imagine bees buzzing amidst a blooming heather field, nature's sweet symphony. That's the ‘honey flow,’ a time of plenty and effortless creation. If the ‘Heather’ is flowering well, we get glorious dark syrupy honey from the bees. I like this idea of finding balance by embracing both the "honey flow" periods and the quieter seasons of life. A bit like gliding along on one’s balance bike!
What is The Balance Box?
a creative and spiritual self-expression
an online resource of thoughts, musings, tools and reflections on navigating life's busy path
a physical box, toolkit and sanctuary to re-balance when life gives you lemons (mid-fidelity prototype)