A Balancing Act

When I was a kid I took gymnastics class. It was the type of class where you got exposure to all the different apparatuses (FYI - I googled, that is the correct plural) and skills. Now, I have very little memory of childhood, but you bet your leotards I remember the time I tried my first backwalkover on the balance beam. My hands missed, leaving me to flail backwards, feet over head, smacking my crown on the beam before falling off altogether. And like most cracks to the melon, there was a valuable lesson to be learned.

Unfortunately, the big ta-da! wouldn't come until nearly tweny years later when I realize I am horrible at balance. I took a hiatus from this blog and filled in my time with a million other things. I got distracted. I got "busy." I got overwhelmed with life. Whatever, whatever, I dropped the ball on doing something I enjoy that gives me a creative outlet and I'm ready to be done operating in that zone. I realize one of my big challenges in this life is achieving that exquisite lesson of balance, and the virtue of some valuable "me time."

Some could argue - even I often argue - that I have way too much me time. I live alone. I work alone. From my home. This is starting to sound like a Dr. Seuss rhyme... Point is, alone time, is very different than the valuable "me time," where you say no to something or someone and spend some time honoring yourself by doing the thing(s) that give you balance and make you feel like you can then be a better version of yourself for you and for others.

For me, this means doing things like this blog. Or spending three hours in a book store exploring all the millions of topics and stories that fascinate me or going out to breakfast alone on a Saturday morning and nursing my cup of coffee (okay, cupssss) and savoring every bite of my meal without feeling rushed, watched or in need of making conversation.

So, here it is, I'm going to beat New Year's resolution season to the punch and resolve to do one thing, starting today: practice more balance in my life. For me, this is the number one thing I know makes a difference in my general outlook on life and well being. In the spirit of not having to get smacked in the head again, I'm going to try and start small: one night a week I sit down for a blog post.