Balance is an Enigma

I grab my morning coffee, set it on the windowsill
and settle into my morning meditation.
Moving my body through several sitting poses until
I find the one that feels right
for this day it happens to be a yoga squat.
As I spend time here my body commands me
to lift up onto my toes,
a balancing act that insists on my full attention.
When I achieve comfort in this place,
I notice the steam blowing off my coffee
and I answer the call to drink it…
staying in the pose
my balance unwavering.

There I am.
Up on my toes,
in a peaceful flow of my thoughts,
my coffee and my body.
Centered.

Balance is an Enigma

Soon after I was finished I got to thinking about “balance.”
You see, balance is an enigma to me.
Being hearing impaired, I suffer from severe vertigo attacks.
During these assaults, I’m rendered incapable of standing,
let alone walking or even talking much.
Balance is impossible.
I find, often, they happen when
I’ve let my own scale of me vs. the world
tip too far away from me.
A physical reminder to shift my focus back to myself.

The truth is?
I think balance in life is a myth.
The only way I was able to achieve balance on my toes
during my morning meditation was to secure the thoughts
of my mind and my heart on myself and my body.
I had to be aware of what was happening inside me,
to know where my focus was and where it needed to be
in order to stay centered.
As soon as my thoughts strayed,
I toppled.

In those moments of meditation,
I choose myself and my thoughts,
sacrificing the thoughts of my to do list, my family’s needs,
my work, my endless worries…

I see our lives as the same.

I think:
When we choose to spend time on ourselves,
we are sacrificing everything else.
When we choose to love on and pour into others
we are sacrificing ourselves.

So, really it’s not a balancing act.
I believe it’s a series of choices and sacrifices
for what matters to us.
In order to survive, we need to
allow ourselves to
find space in our lives for the
choices and the sacrifices
which allow us to feel centered.

Suddenly, it’s all not so much of an enigma to me anymore…

Jane Ammon

If I could drink milkshakes for dinner every night, I would, yet my kids would never let me get away with it. I think my cat's stinky breath isn't stinky at all, I actually love it.

I’m a listener who creates through photographs and writing.
Creativity unlocks my soul by giving me a voice and empowers me to grow.
I'm on a mission to help others unleash their own inner child through listening to themselves and encouraging their creativity.

I firmly believe:
Every child can be heard.
I hear you. You matter.

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