Balance

Balance is…tough.  I was having a conversation with one of my close friends this morning.  She’s working to figure out exactly how much she can fit in her life and her schedule, a problem many of us are familiar with.  We’re trained, as budding artists, to say yes.  Whatever comes your way, accept it, as long as you can do it well because you never know what connections you’ll make.

What happens when you can’t say yes anymore?  When you’ve overextended yourself, even though you’re still fulfilling all your artistic gigs perfectly fine.  What happens when your hobbies, personal life, and personal wellness begin to suffer?  It’s something we’re all guilty of when we’re in school.  Say yes to everything, don’t sleep, ignore the anxiety, and…oh yeah!  What’s that thing called exercise?  Then we get out of school and have to function in the real world.  Slowly we realize that lifestyle isn’t sustainable, that we have to make decisions.

If we keep taking every gig that comes our way and we don’t sleep, but we do everything else we’re bound to get physically hurt when exercising and probably not have enough attention to give to the people we love who are so incredibly deserving of our love and attention.  If we ignore the people we love to get enough sleep and exercise and eat well, we will never be fulfilled in our lives because we will lose our family and friends.

Life is a delicate balance.  It’s a balance no one claims is simple, but it’s critical.  There’s a running joke in the fitness world: “some days you eat salads and run and other days you lay on the couch and eat a whole pizza.  It’s called balance.”  That statement isn’t that far off.  Sometimes, you have to set your instrument aside to take care of yourself or others, but some days you practice yourself silly and your community understands.  Balance is learning your limits, learning what’s important to you, and learning where and when you need to take care of who and what.

So what’s your balance this week?

Happy practicing!