Balance: Ever Elusive, Always ‘Necessary’

What is a balanced life? It seems the word balance has bounced from beams, breakfast, and work, but somehow not in life. So many people now are trying to get a handle on the high paced reality that seems to demand every second of the day. And while I salute the many inspirational content streams that seem to break life down into bite sized chunks of "just do these 3 things every day to be a super adult," the ideal of a perfectly balanced life is still elusive. Let us explore the concepts of balance through the perspective of basic nutrition to see if there is a clue for how we can all be the super adult instagram says we can be.

In the human body when something is off balance the body will compensate. Our bodies are not fond of just simply going without a nutrient (or function) so often it will compensate by breaking down and/or creating something in its place. In some cases this adjustment to stay in normal range gives us a desired result and in other times we wake up feeling sick from a nutrient deficiency eating away at our bones. Literally, if you're reading this when was the last time you had a vitamin D supplement? All jokes aside - As humans we are not very different from our physical bodies. Time is always being used, with what is the first clue.

Wait don't run away! I am not here to say you need to use your time more wisely. More-so, I am saying that the body will use what it has to steer towards nourishment- perhaps how we use our time can be a clue towards balance. When walking through daily life are we compensating for something missing? Over using items simply because they are available? Or relying on situations that harm us deeply, but pacify other immediate needs? How are our activities of daily living contributing to the life that we aim to enjoy? I ask these questions because they are a reflection of how we spend our time. In theory, the pursuit of balance is to restore a range of equilibrium-setting actions so we can feel comfortable existing at every level of life.

By this theory, we can better understand why when our actions continue to go against an internal equilibrium the world feels like it is in spiral. This theory also gives the second clue to how we can begin to restore balance in our lives. Understanding how to self advocate and self accommodate to build an interdependence with our environment. Like our bodies give food to the gut bacteria and the gut bacteria gives us Vitamin K, we can only produce in an environment that feeds us. When we fill our time with activities, places, spaces and ofcourse, nutritious meals, that feed into our true equilibrium we can take the first steps towards restoring balance.

So darlings, this week I encourage you to reflect on the concept of balance in your life. It is necessary for each person to do a self check every now and again to ensure that we are well. If you haven't done one recently here's a reason to do so.

I hope this article brings you a bit closer to being a super adult and I wish you the best.

Cheron