How do you find balance?

"I'm juggling so much and I feel like I'll never catch up"
"I just need to figure out how to find some sort of balance"

We have the best of intentions. Life often feels overwhelming, so we create a plan for finding more balance and put it in place. It seems to be working, and we start to feel hopeful that we've finally figured things out, that we've achieved that holy grail of life balance...

And then something happens. Or more likely, a perfect storm of somethings.

Someone gets sick. A week suddenly fills with extra meetings, social events and extra items on the to-do list. (I'm looking at you, taxes.)

We get tired. One thing drops off the list. Now we're tired and feeling guilty, and need to catch up. So something else gets put off, maybe just for a day or two. And then a day or two becomes next week. More guilt, more stress, more cortisol making us more and more tired. Argh. (It's not a coincidence that sick and tired spend so much time together in our language)

When you think about the aspects of life you'd like to balance more skillfully, what comes to mind?

About a year ago, I shared in a workshop that I was trying to find balance. At the time, I was juggling a lot: training as a life coach and launching that new aspect of my business, the editing process of my book, a recent move to a new home, my ongoing work as a movement teacher & therapist, along with all the things involved in living a life from day to day - maintaining relationships, keeping myself fed and wearing clean clothes...

In her response to me, the facilitator used the word harmony, and it resonated in a way that balance didn't for me.

When I think about balance, I think about a weighing and comparing of easily measured things. A little more of this, a little less of that, seeking the even point on a scale. And if we lose balance, everything falls apart and we have to start again from scratch.

Harmony feels more subtle, more musical - with variations of quiet, loud, fast, slow, and everything in between. There are days when we need slower, more introspective music - when we play or sing that song that soothes, or makes us cry. And there are days when we want to dance - slowly and gently, or quickly with wild abandon.

You're different each day. Harmony means you get to feel inward; you get to be curious about what is needed for this day. When dissonance shows up (as it's bound to), you can do a little fine tuning. And repeat as needed.

Close your eyes and feel inward for several breaths. Notice what shows up.

• When you consider creating harmony instead of balance, what changes?

• Where is there dissonance?

• What fine tuning do you want to do today to create harmony?