THE LANDSCAPE OF THE MIND

Harmony & Balance

Balance is not about staying perfectly still. It is learning how to move with change.

Harmony and balance can be seen in everything around us. The earth spins around the sun and keeps its orbit through tugs and pulls. The ocean’s warm water flows to cooler regions and the cold water sinks while recirculating the heat. The different seasons make flowers and the bees pollinate the flowers. Even in death, nutrients are recycled and replenish the soil for new life. 

There is a balance to everything, and the systems of nature maintain harmony through these different processes. Harmony and balance are fundamental to keeping the systems operating. 

Even relationships that seem like they are in competition are also seeking balance that ensures their future. The fox and the rabbit must have a balance to ensure their survival. Too many foxes means not enough rabbits to eat and too many rabbits creates its own pressures. 

Everything must have balance and harmony to continue. 

From the planets to the rabbits, everything is adjusting to maintain balance. The same balance and harmony that exists in nature also exists within us. 

Within every human are systems that balance temperature, sleep, hormones, hunger, immune responses, emotions and so much more. All of these different systems are adjusting to the changing world and trying to find a comfortable spot. 

We need to eat, but we can’t only eat. We need to sleep, but we can’t only sleep. 

These systems work together to keep harmony and balance because they all are important. We need each one to survive and grow.

Even within the organs, there has to be balance. The heart can’t only contract, it has to release to pump. The air has to leave the lungs for new air to come in. The physical body has to keep the harmony within itself to continue on. 

Even our emotions have to be balanced and find harmony. This doesn’t mean that we are calm all the time. This doesn’t mean I’m continually at peace. That is not real.

Emotions have to be balanced for us to make accurate meaning of the world. The emotions must be able to move and have a place. There has to be space in my world for the anger I feel because it is necessary. I need anger and acting like I don’t is like pretending I don’t have a right arm. If I don’t have a sleeve for my arm in my coat, where will it come out of?

The emotions become unbalanced when one takes over the entire system. When it is only sadness and never joy there are problems. We have to be flexible with our emotions. 

Being emotionally balanced isn’t being emotionless. It is being in an emotional state without being trapped in it.

The balance we struggle to maintain within ourselves can also be seen in the relationships we create. 

Our relationships must have balance and harmony to be meaningful. This doesn’t mean that the relationship is calm and always peaceful. Any relationship without tension usually means something is being avoided. 

A relationship is two separate people with different backgrounds and experiences coming together. It doesn’t matter whether it is a friendship, romantic interest, or family member; there are bound to be issues. 

And that is a good thing. 

We need to have different perspectives and contrasting views to overcome life’s challenges. The differences in views are not the issue. It is how we reconcile these differences that is the issue. 

If one person controls too much, then the other can’t express themselves. If one person needs too much, the other doesn’t have enough for themselves. One only takes from the other and the dynamics are lopsided.

Harmony requires connection and distance, give and take, push and pull. 

I need balance and harmony within myself. I have to balance all of my different sides. The confident side to face the challenge and uncertainty, but also the flawed side that is still worthy of love, connection, and belonging.

I need space in my life for all these sides and they have to be recognized. 

We try to stay productive and focused on the goal, but then we become dull and boring. We are so independent that we can’t ask for help. If I rely on only one side, everything else strains to keep the balance. This is when harmony is lost and things become out of control. 

A coin has both a front and a back, if you flip the coin and it only lands heads there is an issue. There are different sides of every person and they all have a place. But if we force ourselves to be something and don’t recognize the other sides, we lose ourselves.

The balance and harmony in life comes from movement, not from sitting still. It isn’t stagnant, it is moving smoothly. We see movement as a problem so we try not to move or try to control the change.

But we are not statues. This rigidity is good for stone, but not us. 

The more we force life into stillness, the more tension we create. Harmony and balance require trust that change doesn’t always mean danger. We must be flexible to adjust for the changes, but we can’t lose ourselves in it.

If we find ourselves out of balance, that is okay. Sometimes balance is lost so that new balance can begin. 

Harmony isn’t the absence of movement. 

It is learning how to move with change.