October Theme: Balance & Harmony
A segment of the monthly newsletter is a theme and this blog post is an enhancement to that section. Each theme is an invitation and encouragement meant to help the reader better connect to themselves. Please note that the selected themes can be reflected upon at any time and are not limited to the timing of the specific newsletter or blog post publication.
Theme: Balance & Harmony
This month’s theme is Balance & Harmony (Libra season vibes!) and it is an invitation to reflect on what balance means to you and an opportunity to explore the ways in which you can invite more harmony into your life. Begin with a curiosity about the things that matter to you that also bring you a sense of joy, peace and love; are you doing enough of those things? Perhaps things are already in balance; reflect on how you are able to maintain that balance. If true balance isn’t possible, then focus on the “harmony” part of this month’s theme to reflect on where the give-and-take exists and how you can invite in greater ease into those things that “take” from you and greater joy into those things that “give” back to you.
I leave you with the words of poet rupi kaur:
productivity is not how much
work i do in a day
but how well i balance
what i need to stay healthy
-being production is knowing when to rest
Practices for Reflection
Start by taking five deep breaths to ground yourself. Then, reflect on any or all of the following questions:
What does “balance” mean to you? “harmony”?
What is the relationship between balance and harmony?
How do you bring in more balance into your life? harmony?
What challenges do you have when it comes to bringing in greater balance and harmony into your life?
How do you balance the challenging aspects of life?
Personal Reflection
Last month I shared my experience with the stress of moving. One of the biggest lessons from this move was the need to have a “one in/one out” rule: for every new thing that comes in, one old thing needs to leave. After seeing all our things and having to decided whether to move, store, donate, or trash those things, I realized I needed to do a better job at being aware of what I was letting take up space in my life. What I needed was a balance on a physical level that would lead to feeling balanced on an energetic and emotional level. The move then became an experience in shedding what no longer is needed, desired, or in service to my joy and happiness. It feels like a silly thing to share when talking about my personal reflection about balance, but I’m sharing because it is a metaphor for life in general. The weight of holding on to things tipped me out of balance, out of alignment, and away from the lightness I wanted to experience in my life.
On the topic of harmony, I wanted to share the following reflection: balance is not always possible and, in many ways, is never fully possible. I personally cannot balance work and family; family always takes more time/energy and work always has to give more time/energy to meet the demands of family. But, when I think about harmonizing these two, it’s about bringing ease into my family relationships and dynamics so that the quantity of time isn’t felt as deeply and bringing more joy into the time spent working so that it becomes more about quality and less about quantity. It’s never balanced in the way that I would like, but I find satisfaction in the creative ways I am able to bring the two into harmony with one another, like a recent work trip where the girls went glamping with me.
When I focus on harmony, I feel less pressure to have it all figured out and perfectly balanced. When I strive for harmony, I acknowledge that everything is important in its own way and at its own time. For me, harmony allows for imperfections and encourages a curiosity for figuring out what works best in the moment.
