Balance
Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.
Alain de Botton
Everything flows better when you’re balanced. You feel better, your thoughts are clear and you make better decisions.
It’s hard to stay there though. Something always comes along that pulls you away.
It’s been on my mind as I cultivate balance of the physical sort.
When you dance on your own, you’re in control* but when you dance with a partner, you introduce uncertainty**.
Someone else decides what move comes next and, in the space of a just a few beats, you have a complex communication of signal, comprehension and action.
It’s easy to feel like you’ve handed over control and someone else is pushing you around the floor like a mop, although y’know, a sexy mop.
Life isn’t much different. It’s easy to feel like other people are calling the shots and you’re responding the best you can. It’s all you can do to keep moving and hope you catch up in the next few beats.
We blame the distraction as the problem. Quit the job. Hide from the person. Focus more. Remove the problem, achieve balance – right?
Except, it isn’t always practical or desirable. As de Botton wrote, everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.
The imbalance is not the distraction. The imbalance is you. The art of dancing and of living is to balance WHILE responding to the forces that move you.
I’ve heard this over and over in the past few weeks.
“Take your time, finish the turn, then go forward. Take your time, finish the turn, then go forward.”
Or translated “Breathe for a second. Own yourself. Act accordingly.”
Seems like good advice, really**.
*Except when drunk **Especially when drunk
Muchness 
Agree with the quote of de Botton. I have some of his work around here somewhere… bought it but never got around to reading 😦
A sexy mop? Mmmmmm, I will avoid the usual comment about the you-know-what…. I figure that it is getting old by now….
Alain de Botton is a fantastic writer, poetic, philosophical and oddball funny. It’s worth digging out those books and giving them a go!