From the newsletter ...

The Art of balance...

It's 6 o'clock on Monday morning. My week hasn't even started yet and I feel I'm already behind.

Is it just me or do you feel like this sometimes and how many times have you thought, "I must change this -- I must try and get more balance in my life"?

It reminds me of an old Gary Larson cartoon of a dog on a tightrope riding a unicycle while juggling and balancing a jar on its head and holding a cat in its mouth. Underneath, the caption reads: "High above the hushed crowd Rex tried to remain focussed -- still he couldn't shake off one nagging thought -- he was an old dog and this was a new trick!"

It's so true, isn't it, that the older we get in life, the harder it is to break old habits that are often harmful to our well being. This is compounded by 'the terrible toos' -- too much, too fast, too long -- that seems to define this current culture.Even if we have the desire to change, and are dissatisfied with our current situation, what can we possibly lay down that won't let down someone else!

Which of the 20 emails do you decide not to respond to immediately?

Which deadline, for one of the 10 projects you're involved in, can you extend without causing concern for your organisation?

How can you explain to your wife or husband that for the next six weeks you won't be home from work until 9pm?

What will an elderly parent think if you take a day off from visiting them?

Worse than this, what happens when the laws of gravity take over and the spinning plates come crashing to the ground?

Professionals more qualified than I will tell you that it's better to make plans to change before the plates crash to the ground rather than pick up the pieces after the event. They will encourage you to create a 'margin' which is the gap between rest and exhaustion, a space between breathing and suffocating -- it is the opposite of overload. The truth of the matter is this -- when we build balance into our lives we are better equipped to deal with external obligations and commitments.

I'm a slow learner and certain people have been telling me, for years, to exercise the 'no' muscle! This year I did it, I said 'No' -- boy was it a good feeling! Its most important achievement was to create a 'margin' -- a sort of refuelling stop.

For me one of the most fascinating aspects of how we view Jesus' life is that we tend to overlook His first 30 years. Of course the Bible largely captures his over-riding mission to reconnect people with God in the last three years of His life.

But Jesus also had an occupation -- he was a really good carpenter. I'm sure he knew how to cook His own breakfast (after all he BBQ'd for friends on the beach when he had come back to life)!! Being the Son of God didn't keep Him from fulfilling the ordinary demands of a working day -- and honouring His Father by succeeding in them.

What I think is remarkable about Jesus is that, no matter how demanding his life became, he managed to maintain rhythm and balance. He knew what He needed to achieve -- that His mission was to demonstrate the love of God through His story telling and miracles and ultimately through His death -- but also that these activities could only emerge from quiet places with God.

George Bernard Shaw said:

'This is the true joy of life; being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature rather than a feverish selfish little cloud of ailments complaining that the world will not devote itself to making me happy'.

Maybe it's time to learn a new trick -- to draw back a little and give ourselves enough time to re-evaluate our priorities and what givs us true meaning and hope for the future.

Have a great summer.

---

Cogges Parish | Other articles | Feedback

---

© 2009; Published in Crosstalk, July 2009