(Cats know all about balance and flow)
How often do you find yourself fighting, striving, struggling to get ahead, be recognised, be listened to, get the things you want from others, situations or life itself?
Does life really have to be so difficult?
No. We live in a generous universe, a universe of ease and simplicity:
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin" (Matthew 6:8)
"I send the rain for your land in its season, the early [autumn] rain and the late [spring] rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil. And I will provide grass in your field for your cattle, and you shall eat and be sated." (The Torah)
“Out of abundance he took abundance and still abundance remained” (The Upanishads)
"The sage never tries to store things up. The more he does for others, the more he has. The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance" (Lao Tzu).
So then, why do our lives seem lacking? Why are we always striving? Why do the good things in life seem to pass us by?
We struggle because we are out of harmony with the universal forces, out of balance, and out of tune.
We were born into the dance of life fully prepared to receive joy and success without limit. But somewhere along the road, perhaps even from our earliest years, we fell out of harmony with free flow of life, and became unable to receive.
Balance is not just about spirituality. Being in harmony with the universe means being in a state of balance with yourself, with your body, your environment, your goals and actions. It is about being whole and centred in your life.
Balance...harmony ... is not only desirable but absolutely essential to our wellbeing and ability to create meaningful, happy, rewarding lives.
The great masters teach that inner balance creates health, ethical living, peace of mind, prosperity, and joy.
Disharmony, on the other hand, creates illness, distress, poverty, unhappiness, conflict and chronic dissatisfaction. They are messages from your unconscious that you are out of balance and need to bring yourself back into the flow of life energy.
Easily walking the razor's edge
No matter what your situation, no matter how bad things seem right now, you can stop struggling: you can begin to create balance and harmony in your life. When you do, you will find that like my cat, Rosie, you will move more gracefully and surely between life's ups and downs, and walk with confidence, no matter how precarious the path.
I found the best place to begin bringing balance and flow into my life is with the basics: creating strong, steady, reliable foundations for the different areas of my life.
My Basics (yours may be different)
* Healthful lifestyle
* A peaceful, pleasant home environment
* Self-acceptance
* Clear guiding values and principles that you choose to live by
* Safe, trusting, loving relationships
* Meaningful work (something you like doing and want to do well)
* Sound financial practices (regardless of how little or much you have)
* Daily disciplines (mine are spiritual practice and writing)
Begin in an area of life where you feel most confident of success, then gradually attend to more of them. That way, you don’t take on more than you can handle, and your success will encourage you to take on other challenges.
Little by little, you will find your world slowing down, becoming more peaceful, beautiful and satisfying. And you will discover that what once felt like stumbling through life and continually losing grip is actually a grand adventure of discovery.
(Image of Rosie)