Life Balance

In considering Rosemarie's post on choosing happiness, it made me think about having balance in life in order to make such a choice. I don't know about our readers, but life just seems to be getting more and more hectic. The long, lazy days of summer seem to end up in the screaming-fast days of autumn. School picks up, 4th quarter work seems to be more intense, community life has more needs, and yet we are called to choose and balance all of it. Then to top it off, the sun goes down a little sooner, making our days seem a bit shorter.



What is the key to life balance? In considering what would "change the face" regarding life balance, I think it deserves some thoughtful consideration. As we look at our days, are they open with opportunity? Or constrained with tasks? I can tell you that I see life as somewhat constrained on a typical day. Yet what about the great inventors who spent hours considering, hypothesizing, and creating new ideas and solutions - was their time constrained? Or did they look at life and work as an opportunity.



I recently uncovered a poem written by a Zen Buddhist that I used to keep near my desk while I was in the hectic corporate world. It seems to sum up "balance" quite well.



The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between
his work and his play,
his labor and his leisure,
his mind and his body,
his education and his recreation,
his love and his religion.
He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.

To him he is always doing both.


May your days be filled with opportunity and may your friends, coworkers, and family need to decide if you are working or playing!


Questions to Ponder:
What balance do you need in your life right now, today? Can you, and do you, distinguish between work and play? What opportunities are you willing to look at like an inventor to seek a creative solution?