Lately I’ve been thinking — a lot — about how the world works.

What I keep coming back to is this idea of balance. Not in the “even / level” sense of balance — but in the “ebb and flow / to and fro / rise and fall” sense. In the sense of fluctuating between two states.

Complacency balanced by change.

Solitude balanced by connection.

Activity balanced by rest.

Our relationship with the earth balanced by knowing our place in heaven.

When we’re not oscillating, the result is imbalance.

We get stuck … lonely … burned out … disconnected from reality.

That’s sad enough.

What gets me riled up about balance, though, is that if we don’t embrace it, we can waste this one precious life … and this one precious life may be shorter than we think.

I believe balance is a natural state. However, we no longer live in a world governed by nature. For millennia, we humans have deliberately changed the world around us — and in the last 150 years, we’ve changed it more quickly and dramatically than Mother Nature could keep up with.

To live in a state of balance now takes intention, effort and courage.

Finding solitude when you’re caring for others 24/7 takes effort.

Resting when hustle is the cultural norm requires intention.

Activating meaningful change when it feels easier to just wait and see if things improve requires courage.

The alternative, though, is riskier.

You become a bystander in your own life.