The Key

The key to happiness is balance. Balance is spoken and written about in lectures, religions, and self help books. In my twenties, I journaled and created a collage titled: "The Mind, Body and Spirit." I knew that the key to happiness was hidden in finding a balance between these three concepts. It has taken me the past 20 years to profoundly understand what that means and to finally be living and practicing balance. First though, we have to make a commitment to ourselves to come out into the light. It's impossible to find balance if your shadow self is where you are residing. Shadow selves are the places where avoidance, denial and fear keep you imprisoned. Avoiding your feelings and denying your true self keeps the shadows alive. Stepping into the light and exposing the shadow self for what it is, takes you closer to liberation and freedom. How do people stay in the shadows? Thoughts keep you there. Too many thoughts and not enough balance of the mind-body-spirit, equally divided, creates a difficult to manage shadow self. "Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings- always darker, emptier, simpler"...(Friedrich Nietzsche). Too many of those darker thoughts creates anxiety, worry and doubt. Too much anxiety creates illness, obsessive compulsiveness and panic attacks. Very dark thoughts turned toward the self can contribute to feeling depressed. Balance is the key but it is a journey in disciplining your thoughts to get you there. If your thoughts create your life, then changing your thoughts, changes everything. Discipline is the daily practice of mindfulness when it comes to your thoughts. Being aware of the quality of your thoughts as well as allowing feelings to emerge and be processed is part of the discipline of balance. There are other ways people process their feelings as well, such as through art, music, writing and even humor. All creative outlets can be a great way to channel emotions and to allow deeper feelings to come to light. Dedicating time to take care of your body, through nutrition and exercise is the discipline of nurturing the self. The state of our bodies reflects the state of our dedication to self. Neglect the body and it is symbolic for neglecting your car until it barely drives or begins to break down all the time, hindering your freedom in this life. It is not selfish to care of ones body, it is neglectful if you don't. The spirit is like the breath we take for granted, each and every moment of our lives. It is our heart and soul and connects us to all that is. Neglecting the spirit is like ignoring the beauty of a sunset or sitting on top of a mountain, so distracted and detached, you are planning the next day instead of taking in the beauty surrounding you. When you ignore the spirit, life is one dimensional, flat and missing something. When you don't pay attention to the spirit, it's like baking a cake and forgetting the flour. Like the cake without a key ingredient, life is flat and dry, when you don't nurture the spirit. When you nurture the spirit however, everything comes to life and nature begins glow all around you. Nature is spirit and is so alive with the breath of the earth. The journey and lesson is balance, which is the key to feeling grounded while surrounded by stresses, noise, traffic and the demands of the world. When in more balance, it takes a lot more to throw you off and you recover from stressors a lot easier. So pay attention to the state of your mind-body-spirit....and begin the process of making sure that each one gets its time and honor. The reward....a happier and more balanced life.