Baby Balance

Posted on 19. Feb, 2008 by Susan Wright in Life Coaching

I was visiting friends the other day, when I was given a 0-3 month onesie for my new baby which has the word “Balance” scribed on the front of it. When my friend saw it, she thought of me, and certainly an ideal gift for a Lifestyle Coach and Mother. The timing of that gift couldn’t be any more perfect!

That little tiny onesie with a symbolic leaf and word means a whole lot; cradling a new born in one arm while preparing breakfast for a toddler, swaying a new born while talking with clients and praying he won’t cry, managing the loads of laundry and loads of ideas that surface all hours of the day, writing rather than resting, resting rather than doing. Some of these acitivities are a choice while others are not. But in the throws of cooking dinner and dealing with a toddler having a temper tantrum, the concept of balance or choice seems somewhat ridiculous. However, no matter what the tempo or intensity of the moment, I must remember that in the life of a day or a week that I (we) do have balance, it just doesn’t present how we think it “should”-like equal amounts on a scale or a continual state of bliss!

Life has it’s own rhythm most clearly demonstrated by a newborn child. A newborn baby will cry, wake, sleep and feed all in 24 hours but not nessecarily in balance. And just when you think you have a routine or some sense of balance, the baby will change it! So many of us struggle with the concept of balance. I wonder if it would help, if we approached this concept differently? What if for instance, we consider balance in the form of a cradle; swaying, enveloping and rhythmic.

Ahhh, not sure about you, but I find this image much more sensible, comforting and realistic. When we consider balance, I think it’s so important to notice the eb and flow of our days, the fluctuations in our state of being and doing. Somehow in the span of many moments we can find balance, it’s just a matter of perspective.