My son received a handmade gift.  {It was a new idea to me, but apparently they’re the rage.}  It’s a spinner. Specifically, it’s an awesome, bright blue and green, plastic, tri-armed shape with pennies in the ends.  (Thanks Nick!)

Funny thing is that one of the pennies turned out to be heavier than the rest, and it made the spinner ever so slightly off-balance.

That meant that when you held the center button with a thumb and index finger and tapped it hard to make it spin, it would spin, but after a few seconds it would slow way down because of the imbalance. Once we changed the heavier penny out, this little fidgety toy can spin much longer with the same tap.

Does this sound reminiscent of life?

There’s no question; we have greater energy and endurance when our lives are in a state of balance.

What does balance look like?  I think it looks like, eating when you are hungry and resting when you are tired.  Having patterns and rhythms that support and sustain life.  Having time for reflection.  Time for people and connections.

Is there some small tweak you could make to even out some even slight imbalance in your life?

I read a doctor’s comment the other day, that if a person is trying to raise a family and start and run a business, they are most likely in, or heading to adrenal exhaustion.  I thought that was a pretty general blanket statement.  But think of it; there is only so much of one person to go around! And both of those endeavors, and many others of that magnitude, require a great deal of time and diligence. For some it may be more doable than others, but pushing ourselves to the limit every day is putting a family at risk. You are the hub of the wheel an when the hub is out of commission, the wheel doesn’t roll very well. I know this from personal experience.

Surely, it is the trick of the century to have the wisdom to know when to say “no” to extras, when to simplify, and when to take on something new, isn’t it?

May God bless us all to cultivate that kind of wisdom by learning to listen to our bodies and to the signals and messages our children and spouses are giving us. And then may we to continue to learn to adapt and change and roll with the progression of time and stages of life, in order to maintain the balance that will best serve our health and the lives and health of those we love!

Love,

Jacque