The Gift of Balance

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us at our counseling practice with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions at 434-808-2637.

Is watching a loved one walk across the stage to be handed a diploma on your June schedule?  It is incredible how fast time moves.  Does it seem like just last week you were holding your sleeping infant son or daughter in your arms?  And, didn’t it feel like yesterday that you walked your child to the first day of school?  Are you now wondering what to say to him or her on this big day?

Have you considered talking about finding balance in life?  Yes, balance.  As Charles Ryrie put it, “There is nothing more devastating to the practice of living than an imbalance.”

Balance means having an equilibrium with all elements in our life, work, family, friends, and spiritual life.  A great graduation gift is the understanding of balance, how to put all aspect of life in an order that does not allow one aspect to tip the scales too far in one direction.

The idea of setting all aspects of life in a healthy relationship with each other is not difficult to understand.  Just like an automobile engine must have the proper balance of fuel, air, and electricity to properly perform, we must have the appropriate balance.  But what is included on the list of things that should be balanced?   Have you heard the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work will make him a bum.”   The list is personal but includes work, family, self, and God (not necessarily in this order).

The next big question is, how do we achieve a balanced life?  Finding balance is a lifelong process with many threads, including the ability to view self, the need to make adjustments, and perseverance.

View of self means understanding yourself.  What is your personality type?  What are your goals in life?  Balance in life is built on who you are and what you want out of life.  Balance is an intangible, we can’t see it or touch it.  But we do feel the effect when our life is out of balance.

The word balance sounds like it is a state you can reach and once reached you just maintain what you are doing.  But think about driving a car.  The road may be straight, but we are always adjusting the direction we are driving.  We are never set on a path where we can stop fine-tuning our driving. We make small adjustments; left, right, faster, or slower.  New challenges that confront us require we make adjustments, learn how to react quicker, learn how far we can be away from balance, and still recover.

Being in balance is a state that requires continuous “tweaking.”  Have you ever seen someone riding a unicycle?  The rider is consistently moving in order to stay balanced on the unicycle.  The same perseverance is required to keep balanced in life.  As our situation in life changes, if we lose focus, we can fall out of balance.  We get a new job; soon we are working 60 hours a week and are just too tired to go to church.  We take on a new ministry at church, which leaves no time for the family.  We decide that we should join a gym and soon going to the gym takes up all our free time.  With each change in life, we need to reexamine our balance.

When you talk with your son or daughter remind them that creating a balanced life is not always easy.   At times, even the best Olympic gymnast falls off the balance beam.  When that happens, we need to give ourselves and others grace, forgiveness, and the ability to try again.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  Philippians 4:11

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions; our phone number is 434-808-2637.