Finding Balance
“To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it’s like you have 4 legs instead of 2. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat,Pray, Love)
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat,Pray, Love)
In Gilbert’s journey, she travels the world to find something she’s lost and something she’s dreamed of but never had. In the holistic healing world, three terms are used extensively: grounded, intuitive, and balanced. Some people focus on helping us become more grounded in our lives, while others help us develop our intuition, and others focus on helping us achieve balance. What do these terms mean, and which one should we seek? Gilbert’s words from “Eat, Pray, Love” encapsulate the issue for us.
Grounding, such that we stay in this world, is what we need to be part of the physical world and to manifest our dreams in the world. If we focus only on intuition, transcendence, other-worldly and after-life benefits, we lose our footing in the manifested world, which includes careers, relationships, and manifesting dreams.
Intuition brings us above and beyond the limitations of the physical world. Joseph Campbell would tell the story of two stone masons working on a large cathedral. One stone mason, when asked what he was doing, said he was laying stone. Another stone mason, when asked, said he was building a cathedral. How we view our physical world depends on our ability to transcend the physical and impart meaning to what we do and experience. Intuitively connecting with our deepest selves, the depths of others, and the divine gives us the ability seek the healing and meaning that can be experienced in this world.
Balance is sometimes interpreted as a tight rope walker who is balancing twirling plates on the ends of sticks. This kind of balance is about keeping as many things in the air as possible, which is really hyper-performance more than balance. True balance is something that allows for the natural cycles of life, allowing for flow, flux, seasons, weather, and orbital rotations. Balance allows for being grounded, active, and manifesting as well as being visionary, receptive, and intuitive.
Balance is that place where we honor ourselves, who we are, what we need, when we need it, and when we truly befriend who we are inside and out. When we learn to love ourselves, is when we’re ready to be loved by others.