This week’s Peace Nurturing Practice is Balance.  We welcome the balance and tranquility of consciously breathing in and out.  If we were to simply breathe in, it would not take long before we felt miserable.  By choosing to balance, and slow down, our “in and out” breaths, we can gently and quickly calm ourselves. In conversation, we seek equanimity and meaningful communication through both speaking and listening.  As my Grandpa used to say: “Be sure to listen.  If you are talking, you only hear what you already know.  When you listen, you might learn something.”  Not only won’t we learn anything, but if we speak without listening, we lose the chance to establish respect for one another.  

Riding a bike is dependent upon finding and maintaining our center of balance.  If we wobble and lose our steadiness, the feedback can be painful and unpleasant. The same applies to any aspect of our lives, once out of kilter, we experience discomfort and hopefully, eventually realize the importance of evenness is to our tranquility.

Our society encourages us to “work hard.”   We are urged to do more, give more, work more.  Finding a way to juggle work, home, child-rearing, friendships, and community while still breathing offers rich practice in seeking and finding the tranquility of balance.  Some of our earlier practices can help us regain and maintain balance. 

• Meditation: https://mypeacesanctuary.com/meditation-on-light/
• Laughter: https://mypeacesanctuary.com/laughter/
• Compassion: https://mypeacesanctuary.com/compassion-2/
• Acceptance: https://mypeacesanctuary.com/acceptance/   

Our lives feel full and complete when we allow the flow of both giving and receiving.  If we were to only give or only receive, we would not fully experience the relationship, stability, and peaceful equilibrium of giving and receiving.  Our very essence of love guides us to both give and receive and to maintain a balance in all things. 

The photo which accompanies this post exemplifies balance to me in its contrasting darkness and light, its water and land, and colors of white, blue, black, brown, and green.  The symmetry of the reflections highlights the equilibrium of the image to my eye. Taken together, it has a completeness born of balance. It is this completeness in the photo, in the process of breathing, in the process of communication, in the process of balancing work/life/play and in the exchange of giving and receiving which brings us home to peace.  

Your words

fill my heart

whose words

open yours

My gift to you

is receiving your gift to me

Balance

provides

peace

*Reflections: These practices are a peaceful blessing for me.  It was easy for me to know what to focus on this past week since I was out of balance.  Not intentionally, who ever is?  Life just jumped up with many precious friends in challenging situations and my own health not 100% to offer me the awareness that being out of balance is not only exhausting, it’s not peaceful! 

The more I thought about what others needed or wanted, the less aware I was of my own health and well-being until – POP!  - I had to stop, breathe in and out and recognize the need for some receiving on my part.  I began to focus on healing, resting, meditating more, and helping myself as well as others and everything started to come back into perspective, into balance. 

Words I read and heard spoken by Wayne Dyer years ago came back to my mind: “You can’t feel bad enough to make anybody else’s life better.”   I was living them and not making anyone else better, but surely feeling mighty bad myself! The simple, clear logic of his words brought me back to myself, to laughter at my well-intentioned disastrous antics and to choosing to heal by giving and receiving, not just giving.  It's amazing how much more I had to offer others when I allowed myself the gift of balance.  I ‘m grateful to say you can indeed get peaceful enough to help others be peaceful too! 

*Your turn to reflect – Do you remember a time you were off balance?  How did you know?  What works or might work to bring you back into balance? 

Thank you for being a vital part of Peace on Earth by nurturing peace in your heart, in your life.  The more that you embody peace, the more peace there is.

Your comments and suggestions are welcomed.  (Click on the blue link below.)