BALANCE
BALANCE IS NOT STILL
RATHER, A STEADY FLUCTUATION
I've come to associate balance with this symbol of an intersecting circle and triangle. Asymmetrical, yet balanced.
My interpretation of the symbol shifted over time and experience. Initially, this pattern was visualized during an acid trip while sitting in the dark with closed eyes. The associated sentiment at that time was the distinct pathways of people, which periodically intersect. We each have our own pathways to walk in life, though our paths may align at times. It reminds me to honor my personal journey foremost. I still cherish common alignment as it occurs, but prioritizing inclusion and companionship over my purpose erodes soul.
I’ve since come to realize the essence of this sentiment is that it’s not particularly about walking my own path or having companionship. Both are important. Problems arise when any particular aspect is held too significant or unimportant. Effective balance requires deep, intuitive understanding of how each aspect affects everything else, how to interact with each, how much and when. This applies to countless aspects of life…
While balancing the body throughout various poses, there are contrasting intentions and divergent focuses: Stretching certain muscle groups while relaxing others, aligning positions of joints and angles of limbs, the nuance of internal intention--not too much, not too little... and on top of all that, you must remember to breathe!
As focus is given to any particular aspect, attention recedes from others. Upon realizing, you must return to tend to other aspects which were previously in order. With practice and systematic structure, passive attention is able to more effectively sustain the parts out of focus, but they still tend to drift toward disorder.
This dance is commonly referred to as "the balancing act". It applies to many concentrations and activities and to life in general. Especially as the dynamics of our lives grow more complex and intricate.
There is a common tendency to grow enthusiastic upon experiencing the usefulness of a tool and proceed to use it in all sorts of situations—often in cases where it is not so efficient.
Likewise, on the other end of the spectrum, upon experiencing a negative outcome there is often a reaction to dismiss the usefulness of the tool entirely—simply labeling it as “bad” regardless of context, absent of nuance. Tossing the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes.
It’s a mentality of seeking “silver bullets”—simplistic solutions to countless problems. Of course there is a natural tendency to move toward simplicity, as complexity requires lots more energy to process. However, mastery requires assessing nuances such as “how is this useful?”, “In what ways can this be detrimental?”