Small shifts, big changes

Small shifts in our thinking can create big changes in our lives.

It seems there is a lot of talk about having a balanced life. I agree with that and on the other hand, when I think of balance, I think of a gymnast on a balance beam. One wrong move and no matter how much you’ve practiced you can slip and fall. I also think of juggling, trying to keep everything in the air and in perfect rhythm. Balance seems rigid to me at times. It seems like a constant give and take, keeping track of what area of my life gets the most attention. It can feel like keeping score.

I learned to think about living my life in harmony instead. It seems like there’s more flexibility in harmony. Harmony sounds like a blending of time and energy, a flow. Harmony feels more flexible and forgiving.

To find harmony in the happenings of my life I look at the effects it’s having on the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical aspects. I ask myself what consequences this is having on each of these parts of me. That keeps me from putting too much attention on one facet causing the harmony to be interrupted.

There are going to be times that we put more attention on our physical self when we’re not feeling well or have an injury. Then there will be times that we struggle with our emotions and that’s where more energy goes.

We constantly have things come up in our lives that demand our attention. The trick is not to get so stuck in one area that other parts of our lives suffer. That takes awareness, and when we pay attention to how we feel; how we respond or react gives a clue to how we’re doing.

To live in harmony, we must give ourselves what we need spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Sometimes that means asking for help or saying no when we feel like we should say yes.

Living in harmony is not easy, especially when we first set that as an intention for our lives.

Harmony doesn’t always look like harmony; however, we can feel it and that’s what we learn to trust.

When we change the world changes.