Phil and I finally were able to take the dog for a walk down by the river at Bateman Island. We experienced a few slushy areas and some parts of the trail still covered in ice and snow. (By the time you read this you will think—what snow? It’s melting fast!) At one point, I slipped on ice and nearly took a tumble. I staggered a bit before Phil and I connected and I grabbed a hold of him.

Isn’t that how it is? We go along just fine and only when we lose our balance do we reach out to others. Thank goodness Phil was there to stabilize me. He didn’t need to pick me up and carry me. He didn’t need to walk for me, he just offered stability that saved the day. That would have been a hard fall on the frozen ground.

Who do you reach out to when you are hurting? Is it someone who offers stability or someone who tries to fix it for you? Is it someone that is really there for you or someone that finds ways to need you instead? Do you stagger around trying to regain your balance by yourself?

Maybe you have a friend in deed or maybe you find ways to rely upon Divine Assistance for stability and strength. Or maybe you do both. Going it alone is certainly a lot harder.

Once I stabilized and grabbed a hold of Phil he said, “What are you doing!?” I replied, “Nearly falling, of course!” We had a good laugh about that. One doesn’t plan to slip or lose their balance. Life happens. Slips happen. Sometimes we don’t even know we are out of balance until we are on our backsides nursing bruises and a wounded pride.

What is balance? Balance is that delightful space where we take in life- it’s joys and beauty without a second thought. We appreciate the birds’ singing and the warm sun. We find gratitude for the small things and appreciate the love and kindness in our lives.

When we are out of balance, nothing matters except that which is pulling us down. Whatever situation we find ourselves takes all our attention. When my feet started to slip out from under me, I couldn’t care less if the sun was warm nor could I hear the song birds. Yet once I regained my footing, I could notice those things again.

Often even after we’ve regained our footing, we stop noticing. We stop listening. We guard ourselves. We hold back. We stop moving forward. We discover someone is untrustworthy, so we stop trusting. We get hurt and we shut down our feelings.

How can we restore balance more quickly? Fast answer—do something creative or get out in nature. That shift into creativity or that sense of nature resets our inner and spiritual balance. Then we can move forward confidently—in balance— while enjoying life’s majesty within life’s ordinary moments.

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