Emotional Balance

To be a balanced person seems to me to be the pinnacle of compliments. Or at least on the other hand, to be perceived as imbalanced is one of the most dismissive remarks that can be made about a person.

"Oh don't listen to him, he's imbalanced."

"Really? Oh..maybe he's off his meds."

I don't take meds, nor do I hear feedback that I'm imbalanced very often, but it is a creeping feeling that if I am not perfectly "balanced," I could soon be called what almost equates to being called insane and not of this world.

So I suppose we must aspire to be balanced, but what is that? Even-keeled, serene, never raising your voice? Maybe possesing a schedule that has just the right amount of work and play, physical and mental activity, spiritual and carnal concerns?

And of course there is the balanced diet, immortalized by the food pyramid which shows us all what the perfectly balanced, read "normal," human being eats.

It all seems unrealistic, if you want to hear my imperfect opinion, and even boring, if you want to hear me raise my voice. But as in the last post, I want direct my interpretative focus away from a human paradigm, run by opinions and brainy guidelines, and move towards a view that incorporates the Earth itself.

At one end of the scales of balance, we have one extreme, and the other side another. Happy and sad for instance. It would seem that "the balanced person" would not aspire to either of these. It is a Buddha-like notion, admirable for those who pursue, but admittedly not for everyone.

By this idea, a person who is happy more often than they are sad is imbalanced, and open to the sitgma associated with that. To me that sounds crazy.

But my thoughts are on this subject today beacuse I and my fellow Americans are near the holidays. Thanksgiving is in two days, and the anticipation of a happy, warm-hearted day enjoying friends and family is creating a strange effect by my observation.

It's making people more miserable!

I thought it was just me, but as I went out for my extended lunch break, and even within my place of work, I saw it in all others too. It would seem that to balance out the hoped-for happiness of a future date, a little bit of hell needs to be experienced beforehand.

This effect is created by humans to a certain extent, but I would argue that more likely it is co-created with natural, read "normal", forces. Holidays were holy days, holy days arose around holy events, and holy events were perceived in nature, as in the stars, the seasons and the cycles.

Therefore the high of one extreme is accompanied by the low of another, as it has always been.

This I believe is balance, and has not everything to do with our conscious choices, and desires to appear normal and under control. The serenity of a Buddha is linked to the abandon of a Dionysius. This also means for us, that to be emotional or even wild, is linked in balance to others acting reserved or calculating.

We as humans can choose and participate, but ultimately it is within a field that imposes its own choices and movements, moving us by its music and dance.

I could go into how these thoughts were influenced by my own childhood survival tactics, but whether you are perceived as "imbalanced" aka a little crazy, or "balanced" aka perfectly wise, harmonious and all that, I say that you are part of a balance that can't be imbalanced, it will always right itself.

And as with the holidays, the crazy ride can be worth it.