Karen Restivo
In Other Words....
Balance is essential in every aspect of life, literally!
Ever try putting your shoes on while standing, holding your cup of coffee, carrying boxes down a stair case or holding groceries while trying to unlock the door without focusing on balance?
Let’s expand on this thought by observing home life, career, city government, national government, ecosystems, wildlife, medical research, health care, global economy and population.
It all teeters on balance.
Author Mark Hansen uses the analogy of a tightrope walker.
“Imagine a tightrope walker in a circus.
“He is on a rope suspended a few feet above the straw covered floor.
“His purpose is to walk the rope from one end to the other.
“He holds a long bar in his hands to help him maintain his balance.
“But he must do more than simply walk.
“On his shoulders he balances a chair.
“And in that chair sits a young woman who is balancing a rod on her forehead, and on top of that rod is a plate.
“If at any time one of the items should start to drift off balance, he must stop until he can get all of them in perfect alignment again - for the tightrope artist doesn’t begin until all the elements above him are aligned.
“Only then does he move forward, carefully, slowly, across the rope.”
We’re at a time in our history when it feels like we’re balancing like the plate on the rod supported by a number of entities governing whether or not we’ll make it across the tightrope or fall to our peril.
Rest assured, we’ve faced similar moments in history, but we seem to always return to the same fork in the road- power vs. peace.
History.com recently highlighted the life of Mahatma Gandhi and his nonviolence activism in the early 1900s and following World War I.
In their article “Mahatma Gandhi” they note, “Gandhi lead India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain.
“Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices.
“After Partition in 1947, he continued to work toward peace between Hindus and Muslims.
“Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist.”
Before Gandhi’s death, he wrote the “7 Blunders of the World that Lead to Violence” that hold balance in our world hostage.
They are:
1) Wealth without Work;
2) Pleasure without Conscience;
3) Knowledge without Character;
4) Commerce without Morality;
5) Science without Humanity;
6) Worship without Sacrifice and
7) Politics without Principle.
In other words, his words still hold true today as we once again find ourselves at the fork in the road.
Balance comes when we align ourselves with love, compassion, forgiveness and unity.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Gandhi