Balance and the quest for the true self
This year I have had the opportunity to dive deeper into what it means to heal and be well. A lot of my adulthood I felt like I have been recovering or healing from some thing. And I’m sure most folks can relate. Life is filled with uncertainty, and experiences that can throw us off our center.
I think so often when we visualize health we might start to think of the external manifestations of health. Possibly a lean and fit body, nice hair and nails, glowing skin vibrant, bountiful energy and so forth. And as all of this is definitely a marker on the path to being healthy it is not the whole picture.
There were times in my life where I was in great physical shape but in horrible spiritual condition. There were times in my life where my spiritual practices were on point but my physical health kind of got pushed to the wayside. There’s been a few times in my life where I did feel in complete alignment physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually- It took a lot of focus and intention however.
This year I focused a lot on my physical health, and not that I wasn’t focusing on that before I just leveled it up a couple notches. But honestly, it detoured me a bit from the inner practices of health such us creativity, spirituality, acceptance and more.
I decided to experiment recently, and let go of the reins some on my nutrition and fitness and start to introduce some of those other aspects of wellness to come back into the picture.
Within a few weeks time I began to notice a deeper state of connection and relaxation in my life and body. More congruency with my purpose and passions. I realized I was so focused on just ONE aspect of my health I actually was becoming a bit unhealthy through the imbalance of self.
Don’t get me wrong I still eat pretty clean and I have let up a bit on my physical activity besides Yoga and hiking. I have found that there are seasons and reasons to different parts of our health and wellness journey trajectory.
Ultimately to be well holistically, is a dance and a balancing act that is always in flux and shifting.
I believe to seek this balance within ourselves takes awareness, presence and reflective inquiry. A daily checking in practice to see how we are feeling and asking ourselves what part of ourselves might need a little bit more attention and what part of ourselves might need a little less attention at the moment.
The older I get The more I understand my strengths and weaknesses. There are some aspects of health that come pretty easy to me and other aspects I have struggled with as long as I can remember. We can use the strengths that we already have to nurture some of the areas we might struggle with a bit on our healing path.
Pulling from our inner resources, knowing that as we move forward into balance, it’ll probably be messy. There will be moments where we will feel aligned, and other times where we will be working hard towards balance and will question if what we’re doing is working.
Keep going, it’s working. In my experience anything that we put effort into, will reveal equal in it’s output. Sometimes we get caught up in the way we think things should look like Instead of being open to how things are unfolding before us as divinely perfect as they are.
Balance does not have a stagnant energy quality to it. It is ever moving, transforming, evolving in many forms and manifestations. I believe by checking in with ourselves daily, and asking ourselves “what do you need to feel more balanced right now?” We can move towards and into a abundant, vibrant, holistic state of being.
Peace, love and health, Brittany Adams.