“It’s all about balance.”

Wow, how many times have you heard this one before? I am guessing quite frequently and I am also going to assume that you brush it off your shoulders like you do every other cliché advice. I have been told that balance is “the key” since I was a little girl, yet somehow I am just now trying to instill it in my life. I would like to say that I am a balanced person, but that would just be lying, and I have also been told to never lie. So, the truth is, I am completely imbalanced, I lack the “zen” of being a perfectly even human being and the aurora of being chill and peaceful. I usually tend to go overboard, and I don’t usually let myself let go. So, I thought to myself recently, life really is about balance, but how in the hell do I do that?

So that brought me here, writing to anyone who cares to read this because putting it out for the world to see keeps me accountable, right? Anyways, I sure hope it does because I really would love to find the peace that balance brings. What I am here today to talk about, is my view on balance and why I think that it is something to be thought about and considered.

Balance does not only mean that on Sundays you can eat a pint of ice cream if you eat salad Monday through Saturday, although I like to think that is true nonetheless. No, balance is not just having your cake and eating it too. Balance is finding peace in the fact that you make mistakes. Understanding that although you were not the best person this week, doesn’t mean you have a “bad” soul forever. Balance is letting go of the fact that you will NEVER be the best, there is always someone who will be better, more beautiful, and more intelligent than you, but that is okay. This may not really match up to the definition of “balance”, which according to urban dictionary is, “drinking more to get rid of a hangover; keep your balance”, but hey that’s a good one too. Balance, to me, is a sense of peace. Balance they way you live, work hard, but play hard, have fun, but don’t lose sight of your dreams, be lazy, but don’t lay down forever, and forgive yourself, but acknowledge the fact that you can work on yourself. Have a balanced mindset, the world is not black and white, there usually isn’t a right and wrong, and you will NEVER get everyone to share the same opinion. Though people have conflicting beliefs and ideas, there is a grey area, and that grey area, can bring peace.

I want to come back to what I said earlier, about the ice cream, I want to remind everyone that if and when you do eat that who gallon of ice cream (yes, gallon, not pint), that is okay, because guess what, it's all about ~balance~. Learn to enjoy the ride that is and never will be perfect. Make choices that are wrong, and make more that are right, because in the end there are no bad choices, just lessons learned (hey look, another cliché! But hey, it’s cliché for a reason).

Lastly, I want to point out something interesting. Upon my Urban Dictionary search for the definition of balance, I came upon another definition that Urban Dictionary so kindly provided us, and I must say, I really love it. This definition described balance as, “To be the better half for someone else and vise versa.” Now, this caught me off guard considering I was relying on Urban Dictionary for my definition, but for some reason, this struck me as beautiful. This is not just in romantic relationships, but friendships, family, any relationship you may have, be better for someone else. That someone else can be multiple people, it can be one person, and it can be you. Find a way to seek balance in your relationships and in yourself, whether it be eating cake and salads, or it being accepting yourself for every mistake and accomplishment you make. Find the harmony in your heart, and then pass it on.