BALANCE

Mr. Webster say, in part: equipoise between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements.

All right, that is fine for the purely physical world, but what are we talking about when we use the term “balance?” Balance is a way to keep us on an even keel.

You have seen and known people who are all “thought.” These are usually highly logical people. Every aspect of life has to come under their microscopic scrutiny. They are often very cold people, devoid of human feelings and compassion. And they are frequently brilliant people. But they have all of the human warmth of a gravestone. Lets take an example. Mr. X is the owner of a holding company which owns several businesses, each located in a different area. All of his various businesses are very successful except for one. This one business does well to break even every year. Mr. X analyzes the company and decides that with enough of an investment that he could make it profitable, but that it would take 15 years for the profits that it would make to repay the required investment. Now this company is located in a small town and almost the entire economy of that town is dependent on that company. Most of the adult work force is employed either directly or indirectly by that company. Now it is not logical to have your money tied up for 15 years before you can see any return on it. So he closes the company and sells off its assets. And the entire town suffers. Possibly he could have sold the business to someone else that would try to salvage it, but his analysis showed that he would get more for it by doing it the way that he did.

At the other extreme are those people who are all “feeling.” You have seen them too. “Do gooders,” “bleeding hearts,” “sob sisters.” They are out to save the world and everyone and everything in it from the slightest imagined wrong. The worst of them probably never had a logical thought in their lives. And in their efforts to do good, they often end up doing more harm than what they are attempting to correct. Lets take a very similar example to the case of Mr. X. In this case, Mr. Y has inherited a holding company very similar to the one above. All of the businesses are in small towns and employ most of the adult work forces of their respective towns. Now all of the companies are successful except for one, and it loses a fair sum every year. Now Mr. Y is all feeling, he can’t stand the idea of closing that business and putting all of those people out of work and hurting the town like that. So he continues to feed money into it to the detriment of his other, successful businesses. And eventually, he goes bankrupt and is forced to close all of the businesses.

Thought and feeling are not the only areas where we need balance in our lives. Actually I can not think of a single area of our lives where balance is not needed. Let us explore some more areas.

How about the workaholic? (No snickers in the back row there) This is the man, or could be a woman, who spends all of their time working, trying to make a better life for their family. They never take time for play or just plain quality time with their family. The children grow up knowing this stranger that shares their home with them. Some people seem to admire this individual, but in reality they are leading a very unhealthy lifestyle. And by example they are teaching their children to do the same thing. On the other side of this coin, Joyce is the individual who will only do the work that they are forced to do. Being on welfare is their idea of being successful. Don’t misunderstand here, there are some that for one reason or another are unable to work. They do need welfare. But there are others who are simply lazy. I have actually heard the comment, “Why should I work? I have welfare.” And by their example, they teach their children to follow in that lifestyle.

Neither of these extremes is healthy. Not only can either extreme lead to physical health problems, they also cause spiritual health problems. A balance is needed here as well. The person who works for what they get will have more self esteem than the person who sticks their hand out and says, “Gimme.” Balance also requires time for relaxation and play. When a proper balance is achieved, then the person can enjoy their life and be a much healthier person.

Since this is essentially a spiritual group, we may as well cover that aspect as well. Balance is also needed here. You have all seen or known the type who spend all of their time on their spirituality. They may be church types that devote all of their time to church work or to trying to “save souls” or to converting others to their way of thought. These individuals are not restricted to Christianity, you can find them on any spiritual path. They are easy to spot, their “spirituality” is all that they can talk about. And on the other side of the coin is the individual who never gives spirituality or religion the first thought. And should you mention it to them, they will just look bored. They may even tell you that they are not interested.

Again, neither of these extremes is healthy. We are spirits that happen to be living in a mundane world. Since we are spirits, we do need to have a spiritual awareness. But because we are living in that mundane world, we also need to spend time with the mundane. Balance the two.

There is no aspect of life that I can think of that does not require balance. You can go to extremes with any part of your life. And neither the extreme left nor the extreme right is a healthy position. Think about your life style. Are you a health nut or do you ignore your physical health completely? Are you a spendthrift or a miser? Are you overly concerned about appearances or could you not care less? In all aspects of your life, strive for a healthy balance.

Even nature strives constantly for a balance. Grazer animals will be balanced by the amount of edible vegetation available. There will be a balance between predators and prey as long as man does not upset that balance, which he has a habit of doing. Even the centrifugal force of the Earth moving in orbit about the sun is balanced by the gravitational attraction between the sun and Earth.

Joyce Chandler