Tag: Balance

Breathe

by 4letsgetrealtogether2 Comments on Breathe
Breathe

“Give me a couple days to come up for air.” “I’m just now able to catch my breath.” “When things slow down and I can breathe again…”

Any of these sound familiar? We run around, stretching ourselves so thin, we forget to do the very thing that gives us life: breathe. Denying ourselves the space and opportunity to breathe reeks havoc on our bodies, raises our stress levels, and renders us virtually incapable of handling “the small stuff.”

The funniest part? We don’t even realize we’re not breathing! “Breathe…” I repeatedly used to hear during PT. I would focus so diligently on whatever task was immediately at hand, that apparently, I quite literally forget to breathe. And as I unknowingly held my breath, things increasingly became more and more difficult. You feel me? Am I alone on this one?

When God created Adam, He breathed life into him. When Jesus returned and revealed Himself to His disciples, He breathed on them in order to receive the Holy Spirit. Breath and breathing, you see, are vitally important in life—enough that the Bible specifically references it more than once.

When you breathe, you allow room to receive. You create a space that’s conducive to work within. You enable oxygen to flow through your body, which improves healing, performance, and a plethora of other beneficial items. So why on Earth do we cripple ourselves trying to do more, when it causes us to forget the basics?

Hilariously (or not so), I wrote this four years ago. I am profoundly aware of the divine timing in which my own words resurfaced in FB memories. Isn’t it incredible how God works both through and ahead of us? I appreciate His timing even when I can’t fathom the “why” of the moment. Here’s where I take a deep breath, sigh, and audibly exhale.

Friends, let’s learn to breathe again.
Let’s stop drowning ourselves in the “more” this world idolizes, preoccupying ourselves with the devil’s “what if’s,” and withholding the very thing that gives us life. Let’s become better in the basics…it may just be the breath of life that revives us, giving us the opportunity to breathe life into others alongside our own journey.
Breathe, my friends. Just breathe.

Dormancy

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Dormancy

One of the things I love about this time of year is watching my Dwarf Japanese Maple trees change colors. It happens quite suddenly and all the beautiful bright red leaves can fall in the blink of an eye when a front blows through. This year, we had a brief cold snap followed by unseasonably high temps. I am thankful, as my breakfast table view has had extended privileges witnessing this magnificent transformation into dormancy.

One might find this process disheartening, since the leaves will eventually lose their connection, one by one, drifting away, causing the tree to become barren. But only temporarily. These Maples will be dormant, not lifeless. A brief season of suspended splendor before new growth appears.

Dormant, adj.

1. (of an animal) having normal physical functions suspended or slowed down for a period of time; in or as in a deep sleep. (of a plant or bud) alive but more actively growing. (of a volcano) temporarily inactive. (of a disease) causing no symptoms but not cured liable to return.

2. temporarily inactive or inoperative

Oxford dictionary

We too mimic dormancy, although often unknowingly. We let go of people and things that we once held close. We release, rather…withdraw, out of self preservation when it becomes too much. Too heavy. We need a rest. A pause. A dormant period. Call it the “flight” in the automatic physiological fight or flight response.

This is a natural defense mechanism. It is also totally subconscious. An effective way to assess our stress, as long as the dormancy period is brief and used appropriately. A slow down, not an abrupt cease desist, in our lives.

Unfortunately, few of us have the self awareness to recognize when we desperately need rest. We run headlong until we either fall down or hit the proverbial wall. There is nothing pleasant when this happens, for those witnessing or the unwilling participant. Hence the phrase “crash and burn.” It’s simply painful.

So in my REAL moment with you today, I would like to introduce the thought of including periodic personal dormancy as a brief and restorative process. It could be a break from social media, or an intentional interruption of constant on the go, or a day (maybe even two) without a mile long to do list. It can be beautiful change for others to behold. An unspoken lesson others learn. Who knows? It may even be the very thing that properly prepares us for our next season of growth.

Imbalance

by 4letsgetrealtogether1 Comment on Imbalance
Imbalance

im·bal·ance

/imˈbaləns/

noun: “lack of proportion or relation between corresponding things”

A state of being where all the right components are present, but the ratio is off…too much or not enough of one thing, causing the inverse of another.

Let me give you a different example. Suppose you have the new Ferrari Portofino. By all accounts, this is a beautiful, finely tuned machine, made for the road. But what if that road was a mind field of loose asphalt, riddled with mammoth potholes and super-sized speed bumps every 100 feet? Not necessarily “ideal” and definitely an imbalance in car to road performance ratio, don’t you think?

Here I lie, imbalanced. Mind working at warp speed, body unable to translate. Somehow, there was a shift, and I missed it. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention? Regardless, I thought I had gotten myself back in balance, ready to conquer the world, running on all cylinders. Maybe that’s my issue…I returned to old unhealthy habits.

One thing I have learned through the roller coaster of my last few years is this: it’s so easy to unknowingly exist in a state of imbalance…until the scale becomes completely unbalanced, and you come crashing down. Or is this just how it works for me? I have a feeling, though, that I’m not alone in this arena.

Balance, in this world, especially with our current combative climate, through this crazy pandemic, might seem unobtainable. But as I lie here, it comes to me in a moment of clarity…I not only lack balance, I’m completely missing my foundation! I’ve stopped seeking Him first. Traditional worship has been removed. I’ve become haphazard in my prayer life.

Do I think God caused our current less than desirable condition? Absolutely not! Do I believe our lack of priorities has resulted in an imbalance? Absolutely! A little more Netflix (Prime, YouTube, social media, pick your poison) and a little less God is a recipe for disaster, in any climate…but particularly one as tumultuous as our present position.

You see, the difference between imbalance and in balance is this: a little less of one thing (shave a portion off the ‘m’) and a little more space added in front of balance (so it has room to breathe). And what we breathe (ie take in) is equally important. Scrolling through all the latest negative commentary on a school district parent group, drinking and eating whatever whenever, or binge watching mindless TV/videos/TikToks does NOT lead you down the path towards balance (madness is more likely).

I think in our toilet paper hoarding mindset, we have almost completely lost sight of what Italians call “quanto basta” (just enough). We don’t have definitive answers in so many areas of our lives that we grasp at whatever we can get our hands on. And in our desperate attempt to get a handle on things, instead of getting “just enough,” we are drowning ourselves in garbage. Eating garbage. Watching garbage. Buying tons of garbage. Making ourselves feel like garbage.

“Dear friends, you already know these things. So be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of people who have no principles. Then you won’t fall from your firm position. But grow in the good grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to him now and for that eternal day! Amen.”

2 Peter 3:17-18 GW

We must return to longing, seeking, searching, worshipping and praising what will last far beyond anything this temporal world offers. We must beware the siren song of imbalance that beacons us away from being in balance. We must master what matters—pursuing what’s best. Him.