The myth of stability

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Interesting messages coming up in my life right now. I'm trying to learn (become?) the lesson of balance. A blog I read said "Balance isn’t steady-state. Balance is constant movement, constant change."; this rings so true to me.

It reminded me of a time when I was very young. I was riding in the back seat of the car, and I had one of those replica toy dashboards, steering wheel and all, set up in front of me (maybe I was imagining it, steering wheel and all; I don't recall). It was an "ah-ha" moment... I was pretending to drive and realized: I always pretend driving is just holding on to the wheel, keeping your hands in one position, but I looked up and there was my Dad, driving... Making thousands of tiny course corrections, constantly shifting slightly left, now right... Driving isn't just holding onto the wheel to go straight, it is a series of millions of micro movements to adjust to the environment around you.

Maintaining balance isn't about being in some smooth flow... It is about adapting, overcoming, passing over bumps with grace. It is the tree that bends in a strong wind. It is the recognition that chaos, too, is a key component of what we call balance. These are all spokes on a continuously turning wheel... I imagine it to be a bit like the log rolling competition in a lumberjack contest. Be flexible. Expect the unexpected.