On balance

Hi everyone,

I don’t know about you, but I find the computer’s energy too-too absorbing. In fact at times it knocks me completely off center. At these times if the challenges I face at the work seem daunting I find myself rolling into a state of S T R E S S. Some days, I avoid it and stay calm because the tension with the work is low. Other days I avoid it by interspersing activity. Today I balanced it by walking to the beach, climbing on a rock, breathing and then meditating on the light on the water as shown above.

My other reminder for wholeness and away from stress is to pick up my drum. A Bodran (Irish pronunciation = BOW ran) is a round, hand held drum with an octave of different sounds available through the mix of the hand on the back side and the double headed implement you beat with on the head. Mine was made by a lovely man in Scotland and employs goat’s skin to the result of a truly lovely sound. His daughter got him into making drums, the complexity of it kept him interested. We were lucky enough to hear her play – awesome – interesting and unusual are adjectives which come to mind. Her drumming was great to hear and set the standard I would like to achieve.

I am an amateur at best – most times beating out my own rhythm but sometimes trying to play along with music. I think I prefer my own rhythm because then I am not as conscious of the distance between what I am doing and being interesting or keeping time. Whether it is the walking to the beach, playing the drum, doing yoga, or other unheard of yet activities – we all need balance. I find I build inner capacity as I lead my attention to that rich inner landscape. My breathing slows and after just a few minutes I feel refreshed.

I look forward to hearing what you all do to keep the balance in life.

Alana