The Balanced Life

I just uploaded a video to my blog . . . you'll find it in the Video section. It's entitled "Balance" by Lauenstein, 1989. When I first saw this video around 1993-94, it was one of those moments when you just sigh and breathe a great big YES! Only it's a quiet YES! like when you take a deep breath and let the weight of the world off your chest and shoulders.

You see, for years I hadn't understood why I was so resistant to the commonly accepted teaching of "The Balanced Life". Practically every teacher and preacher I ever heard would at some point in time lift up this Holy Grail that we should all be seeking and they would call it "The Balanced Life".

The more this resistance grew within me, the more the word balance became like fingers on a chalkboard screeching across the slate board of my mind and my heart. This word balance, by definition just didn't measure up with what I saw in the life of Christ. And a commitment to living a balanced life sure didn't create an environment that enabled "iron to sharpen iron" (just one example of non-balance). I actually began to see balance as a negative, passive quality. Something to be rejected, not sought after and embraced. Was Jesus a balanced person? Did Jesus live a balanced life? Did his teachings move people to balance and balanced living?

During the time I was asking these questions and many more, a friend introduced me to this Balance video. Here's the Lenten challenge for the day - watch the video and see what you think about balance after watching it.