We need both light and dark in our lives. They need to be balanced. The Earth teaches us this. At this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, we are experiencing the healing power of darkness in the shortest days of the year. At the same time, our siblings in the Southern Hemisphere are experiencing the rejuvenating power of sunlight in summer. And near the equator, the light and dark stay balanced all year long.
How do you balance light and darkness in your life?
A slackline is a thin strip of cord suspended between two fixed objects. It is not tight (or it’d be a tightrope), so it gives and bounces with every movement. In order to balance on the slackline, one needs to constantly adjust one’s body. The adjustments are small, but important, and the exercise takes concentration.
How do you find yourself needing to adjust in order to find balance?
In nature, balance is not an endpoint but a process, called “homeostasis.” Bodies and systems have intricate feedback loops that keep moving around the balance point. When something goes wrong, that balance becomes impossible–like when an infection leads to fever by disrupting the balance point of our body’s temperature. The fever is a signal to us that our bodies are out of balance.
What are the signals that your life is out of balance?
Prayer can be a practice of interrupting the hectic world to reconnect ourselves to something greater than we are. As such, it can be a tool that returns us to balance.
How do you connect to something greater than yourself?
“As a child, I used to do gymnastics. And I loved the balance beam. I remember the graceful motion of one leg passing through thin air, as the other leg holds steady on the beam. Much like life, the grace and art of the balance beam, was that you have to concentrate on one step at a time. Whether landing jumps, or doing tricks, every foot or hand fall on the beam was vital to the balance you kept. In life, I find it often the same way. To balance, we must take it one step, one plan, one day at a time. And sometimes if we do, we can enjoy the art of moving through the air.”
-Rev. Emily DeTar Birt
How can you concentrate on one thing at a time, one movement at a time, one day at a time?
