Tilt

I have a boat. My Mom got it for me and my hubby years ago. It's so cool. It's an inflatable canoe. It's different from paddling a wooden canoe. It responds more slowly. Despite my awareness of this fact, when I paddle on one side of the boat and it doesn't respond right away, I continue to paddle on the same side. The result, of course, is that the boat turns too far to one side. Then I overdo paddling on the other side of the boat to set us straight, and we end up going too far the other way. And so on. The ride is still fun. A lot of work, a bit frustrating, tiring, but ultimately fun and rewarding.

It is much like how I see my life. I imagine a big wheel. Or a circle of some kind which has been divided like a pie. Lots of wedges. Each wedge represents some aspect of life. Like...eating well. Or exercise. Good health. Good sleep/rest. And so forth. In order to maintain balance, each wedge must be "attended" to and maintained. If one wedge is imbalanced, the wheel tips. Whatever that wedge represents, it effects the entire balance of the self. If good rest/sleep is not attained, it effects good health, exercise, eating well, etc. This is true for each wedge. I am aware this is not a new concept, just my interpretation of it. While it becomes critically important to focus on the wedge that is throwing the balance of the wheel off, there must also be attention and awareness on the other wedges. Too much attention to the single wedge throws things off in another direction. Much like my boat. If not enough sleep is attained, the main focus is on getting more sleep, but not to the exclusion of proper eating, exercise, etc. Perhaps the focus is less strong on these other areas temporarily, but the focus is never away.

This is extremely hard to achieve, I feel, but is the key to being, and feeling, balanced. It is the purpose of my blog, and my efforts in general. I feel imbalanced all of the time these days, and I so want to get closer to feeling fine. So I am trying to take a look at all of the wedges on my wheel. The problem is keeping that focus in every area. It's hard!! When I am focusing on sleep, I really fade out on eating well. When I focus on this, I fade out on that. Ugh! But I'm trying. Perhaps it would be easier if I tried to make myself an actual "wheel." Perhaps a visual would help me to remember to keep myself aware of all areas. It's worth a shot. And maybe it would be a good teaching tool for my kids....?