Balance: Autumn Equinox

We are approaching the Autumn Equinox, that time of year when our day is divided into equal parts light and dark. It’s a balance, so to speak (and the reason I chose this for our Monthly Worship Theme), and it offers a time for us to reflect on how we’re doing in our own lives. To start with, we need to define “balance”. What does it mean to live a balanced life? How does it relate to our physical, emotional, and spiritual lives?

Darkness is a time for creation (think of a baby in the womb). It’s a time for us to look inward and examine ourselves, where we’re at, and where we want to go. Perhaps something is missing in our lives. The darkness helps us to dream and to figure out what that may be. It’s a time to create a vision and the journey we want to take to get there. Darkness, being a time of creation, is also a time for us to create self-love. Self- love is critical in being able to walk in this world in a balanced way. (Be sure to come to this Sunday’s worship service for more about that!)

When the light is shining in our lives, we are taking action, sharing our light, and the love we nurtured in our time of darkness, with others. We are receiving the gift of light from others, too, if we open ourselves up to it. Being in the light reminds us to be grateful and to see all the beauty and abundance in our lives.

One of the most helpful online articles I found about balance reminded me that life is constantly changing and so it is up to us to sense when our physical bodies, our emotions, or our spiritual selves are a bit lopsided. It would be helpful, then, to build our skills of awareness for what’s happening “in the now”. For example, when our moods become cranky and we are saying things that hurt others, perhaps that would be a good time to recognize an imbalance and withdraw into a place of reflection and creation.

“Balance is the taking of appropriate action when circumstances dictate so as to maintain equilibrium.” (Stephen Cox, Balanced Existence blog)

Maintaining balance is going to look different for everyone. We all have different activities, responsibilities, and energy levels, and different experiences and emotional responses to situations. In a church community, it is especially important to be aware of this. A church is a place for spiritual growth, a delicate and sensitive transformation. We are all going through it together, just at different speeds, experiencing different sorts of revelations. Therefore, we need to be aware of ourselves so that we know when we can be helpful, and when we need to take caution so we are not hurtful. We need to recognize that in order for the whole to be healthy, each one of us needs to be healthy. We need to honor and respect each individual’s need to step back, and embrace one another when we are ready to come back in. Some individuals maintain balance by putting lots of energy into volunteering, protesting, serving others, and some folks need more time to tend to their own well-being so they can have a truly positive impact. Balance for one helps to maintain balance for the whole.

I look forward to hearing from our guest speaker, Andy Quinn, this Sunday and being able to practice some meditation and creation of self-love with all of you, my beloved church community!