“Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.”
- Storey
When I was learning to surf, the most challenging part was finding my balance on the board. I tried a 8’5”, a 7’, a 5’ and would literally fall off the board just paddling out. It seemed the shorter the board the harder time I had. Considering I am only 5’2”, it really challenged my mind frame. The shorter the board, the better the balance. Right? Not!
On a phone call from a friend at Rock’er Surf in Venice I bought a used 9-foot honkin’ log. I couldn’t demo it, so I just had to trust it would work for me.
I was really concerned at first because this thing is huge and heavy. I can’t even carry it in the tradition manner under my arm. It has to go over my head or I have to hold it balancing on the board rail on my hip. From the moment we both touched the ocean - balance was found. It is a connection I will never forget and often relate within my life.
The Universal Law of Balance explains: Everything in this universe has a flip side. Another way of saying it is, every coin has two sides. Darkness is balanced by light: day and night: activity and rest. The flip side of crisis is opportunity. For every action there is a corresponding reaction. Whenever we go too far in one direction, life has an interesting way of bringing us back into alignment by taking us equally as far in the opposite direction. Since all of life is interconnected, we must become aware that when we hurt another, we are hurting ourselves. Our body/mind/spirit are interconnected and operate as one. When we consciously balance our lives, then life begins to flow effortlessly and we enjoy feeling supported by a Universe, which knows only balance.
Creating a life you want and living a life you love is the most fulfilling goal anyone can ever have. Inside each and every human are certain desires that make us all equal and alike – the desire to love and be loved, to create, to learn, to grow, to remain true to ourselves, to make a difference, to expand our world, to surround ourselves with beauty, nature, peace and harmony. Although we all have these similar desires, how we choose to go about attaining them varies. There is tremendous freedom available to express ourselves when we live from these desire qualities. This is truly a gift waiting to be opened!
Many of the obsessions and addictions people have today come from an unfulfilled desire to possess and express these qualities. Since they were divinely bestowed to all of us, all we need is to look for them within. Yet much of the conditioning seduces us to look for fulfillment through external means. Many people look for love by seeking it externally from another person. Others look for acceptance in their career, and so their entire identity of who they believe they are is a person defined by the work they do. Still others attempt to fill their empty spirits and souls with drugs, alcohol, sex, money or food. Many try to feel a sense of worthiness by pleasing everyone, but themselves. They become lost to their own needs in life. They become a stranger to themselves.
Bill Cosby once said: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
As an adoptee, I spent the majority of my life trying to please every one around me, because I had the fear I would be taken back to Foster Care and would often seek the identity of others and/or anything else for that matter, because I didn’t know my own identity.
Whenever anyone looks to the external world to give them love, joy, acceptance, a sense of purpose in the world, or a sense of meaning, they always feel empty inside and keep looking for the outside fix to satisfy them. All the while, the answers are within our own heart and soul. We just have to listen. As you begin to look within for the answers, something very powerful starts to happen! You actually begin to accept and trust yourself more. An inner authentic confidence in You naturally begins to surface from the inside out! You find yourself beginning to enjoy your own company much more. You begin to take better care of yourself. You begin to go for your bigger dream! You gradually draw the good you have been pushing away as you were rushing around desperately seeking something to numb the pain and empty feelings inside.
Sometimes all that is needed is awareness first, and then small shifts in thoughts and behaviors start to happen.Imagine your life is a wheel. A balanced life has a well-rounded wheel offering a smooth ride. An unbalanced life has an odd-shaped wheel, providing a bumpy ride. When you gain clarity regarding just how balanced your wheel of life is, you will begin to have both - Power and Leverage - to refocus on your true priorities in life regarding what is most important to You. After all, it is You in this body on this planet and You are expected by the Universe to live your life to its fullest. Giving yourself freedom to be You with all Your desires, Your talents, Your gifts, Your goals, Your own unique contribution in this world is both Your gift from God, and Your responsibility to the Universe!
Where is your life out of balance? Where are your weakest areas? What are the rewards of having your life wheel balanced? Come up with 3 actions you can take in each top areas of your life where you feel out of balance. For example: I will work out 3 times this week. I will be quiet and meditate for 15 minutes a day. I will take my son/daughter out to dinner.
Once you have completed your actions, jot down in a journal how these actions made you feel and how they will contribute to the ideal life you want. Then continue with making your Wheel of Life more and more Balanced.
Rock on with your good self…always, in all ways, be kind to yourself.
Trish Lay
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