Balance

 Recently, the Hubs went on a week-long trip with his school,

and left me here, 

alone.

I don't fear being alone.

Actually, I am a loner at-heart.

Spending time alone always seems to balance my heart, soul, and mind,

and therein nourishes my relationships with others.

In having this thought,

"balance"

was at the heart of my meditations during my "alone week."

Balance was the frequent subject in ballet class...

a subject with which I constantly fought. 

"Find your balance, Lindsay!"

"You must balance before you can pirouette!"

"Engage your core and BALANCE!"

Perhaps my core was weak, I was top-heavy, or my anxieties over not balancing caused an imbalance.

Whichever was the case, 

I was horrible in regards to balance...

in dance class.

As an adult, balance has a refreshed meaning,

yet not entirely disconnected from dance.

"Find your balance, Lindsay!"

My balance now includes frequent trips to the ocean to calm my mind,

daily exercise to keep my body healthy and my feet on the ground,

and healthy eating for EVERY meal...I love vegetables!

 "You must balance before you can pirouette!"

If I haven't taken the steps above to balance my mind and body, the cyclical pirouette of daily life seems more challenging than it should be.  In dance terms, "I'll fall-out of my turn" if I haven't first practiced to balance.

"Engage your core and BALANCE!"

Engagement from the inside out...

...thinking before I speak

...planning before I leap

...knowing my intentions before completing an action...

  Strengthen the inside and the outer results will be pleasing.

One morning during my "alone week," I was sitting beside the ocean prior to going to work.

To start the day, especially at the shore, I like to do a "5-Senses Meditation."

(I wrote about it here: http://hermann8er.blogspot.com/2010/07/abandon.html)

On this particular day, I had stopped at a beach that is near to a train track.

As I was concentrating on my sense of smell, 

suddenly...

a train came whizzing behind me,

blowing it's HORN,

overstimulating my sense of sound,

and trumping my sense of smell.

I didn't feel particularly put-out by this occurrence, as I am thankful for the train and for it's horn.

I did begin thinking, however, about how easy it is in our culture and generation to trump our other senses with our sense of sight.

We happen to have become a screen-addicted society on the majority.  

How many "devices" do we own?

How many "devices" do our children own?

How many children take meds for ADHD, but have 5,000 devices to distract their attention from the direction of their life?

Just like that train, we are over-stimulating ourselves, and it is only when we take the time to be aware of "the now"

that we recognize the imbalance that has taken place.

Speaking of "the now", summer is here..in full-effect...and the plants are LOVING IT!

 A slightly voyeuristic view of our orchid...

 Jasmine...about to bloom!

The gardenia is OPENING!!

Welcome, summer!

aloha.