Juggling Life

Life is nothing short of a juggling act - a juggling act that begins when we are children, juggling friends, music lessons, sport practice, schoolwork.  That juggling act becomes more complex as we take on more roles and responsibilities.  Sometimes we feel like we’re juggling giant glass balls, or dangerously sharp knives, or huge fire torches.   The stress can seem overwhelming as we struggle to keep everything moving through the air.  We can’t let even one fall or there will be disaster – glass will shatter, knives will cut, fire will burn, someone will be hurt. And there are days, or weeks, or months, when we feel like the acrobat on the high wire juggling chain saws! Talk about a disaster waiting to happen. A popular website for jugglers has as its slogan: "Keep throwing up"! And that’s exactly what it feels like sometimes when we're in the throws (no pun intended) of juggling.

Let's face it, we will always juggle, whether it's just 2 balls or 20.  And so there is a deep need for balance in that juggling.  A need for balance in our lives.   The famous opera singer, Jessye Norman, has said "Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself."  I am working on that balance in my own life and know that it is no easy task.  It's a balance that can require big decisions and possible transitions.  The process of finding that balance can be painful in the short run.  I've never been fond of the catch phrase 'no pain no gain', and yet I find it to be too true in many of life's situations. 

One of my favorite descriptions of balance comes from author Anne Morrow Lindbergh (Gift of the Sea).  Lindbergh describes balance as "an alternating rhythm between… solitude and communion, between retreat and return."   There is joy to be found in balance; in that alternating rhythm. 
May we all know that joy.