The balancing of one’s life is made up of three dimensions. I constructed a garden once to remind me of what is the first. The middle path, not straight but rather winding divides the space into two distinct halves. The left half is structured and manicured. The dimensions are measured and exact. The right side is wild and unkempt. I am reminded, as I sit under a tree that there are two forces, opposing forces that drive me forward. The one is the structure of reason and the other is the wildness of passion.

The left brained me is logical. There must be order. Mathematics, accounting and philosophy. Measurement and science. There is an explanation for everything. The right brained me is hardly illogical, but it is passionate. Chaos is allowed. Art, music and spirituality. Imagination and creativity. Beyond everything I accept there is the unexplained.  

I need both forces to keep me in balance. I am a ship in full sail. The sails are billowing and the wild winds are urging me ‘on, on.’  But this I know; if I were sails and sails alone, it would not be long before this ship loses its way and breaks upon the rocks.

But I know I also need a firm hand on the rudder too. For only then I can plan my voyage and set a course. For then I can see the world. This too I know; if I were rudder and her alone, I would remain in the safe harbour and would lie there and rot. Perfectly aimed at the open sea, barnacles crusting my hull.

It is duality that gives rise to a balanced and mutual whole. In the shade of my tree I can see my compassionate female-self balanced with my reasoning male-self. There I see reason growing in my soft side as loving-kindness flourishes in my harshness. Harmony within me settles.

I need my nights as much as I need my days. The joy of birth is part of me as the sorrow of my death. I must sustain and exercise my mind and body as I nourish my heart and my soul. In that way, I keep balance. The love I have for my family and my friends is part of my life as my labour and my wealth. There I find balance.

It is evening now and I stand in my garden straddling the middle path. I close my eyes, breathe in deeply and lean to the right. Then I slowly breathe out and lean to the left. I repeat until I am calm and at rest. I open my eyes. On the one side of me it is shady, on the other, it is sunny. All is well