Balance

Balance is living in the moment and being present, noticing, and being one with your thoughts, feelings, and emotions in that moment. “Zen-like Balance is about reaching a state of harmony and equilibrium in our daily lives. It's a state where we can achieve inner peace, contentment, and fulfillment by living in the present moment.” A common theme involving zen and balance is that it isn’t about perfection- it’s about being imperfect and noticing this and being okay with it. Ultimately, your goal is to be at peace with your imperfections, achieving balance in a mindfulness state. “It's about being kind to ourselves and others, and it's about finding harmony in our relationships, careers, and personal lives.”

Will Johnson of Lion’s Roar argues that in order for the mind to be centered, so must the body. In Buddhism, they focus on true balance of the mind, but in order to do this one must center their body, and find a flow in their center of balance and gravity. They view balance in this aspect as slightly more physical, rather than mental, and using your body to balance both in a practical way and mystically (dealing energy of the body & mind). There are three ways to do this: Alignment, relaxation, and resilience. First, you must align yourself upright properly. Then, you must surrender to gravity and not resist it. Lastly, you must “go with the flow” and let your body make natural adjustments. 

To practice my balance and stay present in the moment, I have been practicing mindful meditation, with a focus on noticing my thoughts/emotions and staying present with them. I find a quiet place, sit, and focus on my breath, noticing the sensation. Then, I shift my focus to my mind and let my thoughts and emotions occupy my mental space. However, instead of dwelling on them, I instead try to notice them, acknowledge them, and move on. I stay in this state for about 5-10 minutes, and it helps me relax and unwind. 

I realize that this practice has helped me understand the importance of balance and staying present, and not letting stress and emotions get in your way or cloud your mind. In my experiences, I have found this to be effective, especially in just taking a few minutes out of my day to center myself. Also, it has been exciting learning a new skill which can be done with practice, anytime and anywhere.  Moving forward, I’m aiming to continue this practice, as I feel it will enrich my mental state and help me be more mindful and at peace with myself.

Balance in life is extremely important as it enables us to center ourselves in the moment, and be at peace with ourselves. In practicing growing my balance, I’ve learned that accepting yourself and your imperfections is just as important as anything else, if not more so. This will help me enrich my mental health and general experience in life. Finding balance is a process, and in doing so we learn more about what balance means to us individually. I think the most important and difficult aspect for me is accepting that failure is a part of the process, and it has to occur in order to get better. In relation to storytelling, balance takes a different angle, but is still similar, as characters and stories must have balance: good vs evil, moral vs. immoral, as they are meant to tell or teach the audience about life, even if their main purpose is entertainment is some iterations.