The balancing point
Keri Sutter
Executive Director
Dancers have great balance. We can stand on one foot. We can stand on our toes. We can stand on one foot and extend our other leg high in the air. We can turn on one foot, multiple times. We can stand on one foot and lean forward. Or back. Or to the side. Not only that, we can do all those things while we are standing on either leg. There’s no favoritism in the dance world. If you can do it with one leg, you have to be able to do it with the other also. And that means we’re also balanced between right-sidedness and left-sidedness.
But there are other kinds of balance. There are balanced budgets. There is a balanced diet. And there is the balance we all try to create between work, play, exercise, food, learning, and rest. Balancing all six of those elements is tricky. I always feel that I’m shortchanging at least one. It’s usually rest (how often do I actually get enough sleep every night?), but it can often be learning. It seems the older I get, the more time I spend sending out information & the less time I spend learning new things. We all know that the ability to learn new things, and the time we spend thinking about new ideas, mastering new skills, and making new connections, are the things that will keep us healthy, vibrant, and excited about the world and about living. Yet I continue to spend most of my time working and dancing (exercising). I manage to keep food pretty much in balance, and take time each week for play (Toastmasters! InterPlay! Dancing Outside the Box!), but learning and rest always seem to lose out.
So here’s a challenge for you. Actually, two challenges. First, plan to get more rest. Second, make time to learn something new. Pick up a magazine or newspaper you don’t normally read. Sign up for a class. Go to a concert, a play, a museum or an art gallery. Ask questions. Talk to strangers. See if your life is more in balance. Then tell me about it. You could inspire me to a better balance, too!
Keri
April, 2012