The idea of 'balance' gets repeated from time to time, in varying circumstances and with different meanings encapsulated within. Now when talking about balance in life, again it is used by people with different inner meanings. As we try to unfold the idea of a balanced life, it is important to understand that the blog is just my idea of a balanced life, and how I believe it should be.
The Idea of Balanced Life
The first question is that what kind of life is termed as balanced? People believe different ideas as representation of a balanced life. Is it the life of compromise, where you start walking half way across for everything? Is it the life of mixing everything up? The Khichdi life? xD. Or is it the life where you start acting matured? If you ask me, I would say none, but it has elements from all of the above. Now how does that work?
The idea of a balanced life has two main components, namely a balanced mind and a balanced outlook. Now a balanced outlook does not mean being moderate on every issue or being pseudo diplomatic. It is important to differentiate a balanced outlook from people who have no opinions and the ones who are scared of voicing them. Here again, the usage of opinions does not mean opinions on world issues, but opinions on day-day topics of discussion. So in essence a balanced person is someone who uses practical, constructive, tactical and peaceful means to prove his point and lead his life. It is very important to underline the part which says 'proving the point', but in accordance to realistic situations that prevail around the person. This differentiates them from compromise seekers and opportunists. So much time was spend on the principle of balanced life as to make sure that, the ideas which are not related to balanced life are segregated and avoided.
Building a balanced outlook: Fighting the battle of perception
Now as we dive into the actual discussion on the art of balancing life, the first step is reworking your outlook. This is indeed very difficult unlike the easiness in the way it sounds. The difficulty in building a balanced outlook is due to several reasons, for example the idea of outlook in itself is very vast as it includes a person's outlook towards people, day-day issues & world in general. Secondly it gets more tricky when a person has to battle his own perceptions, in-order to develop a balanced view of things. The solution to the first problem is simple, the idea of developing a balanced viewpoint is a long term process and thus continuous in nature. But the real fight is in the problem of battling ones own perception.
Every judgement a person makes or opinions he/she may hold are rooted in their perception. Thus while trying to develop a balanced point of view, it is always important to keep telling yourself that there is another side of the story. Again I return to the initial point, this in anyway does not mean giving up on your position or compromising, but it argues for an open heart and self critical attitude against blindness in trusting your perception. The idea of an open heart and self criticism is very essential for people handling leadership roles. But not just for them, for every individual it is important to do the same, because many cases of stress and anxiety are caused by a blindness towards accepting another perception of reality. Once people start the battle of perception and understanding it, they start to develop a balanced outlook of things.
There is only a thin line between balanced outlook, compromises, opportunism and lack of knowledge. The idea of having arguments and standing up for ones opinions are absolutely important but if the conversation is with someone who is either blind towards your words or has a personal problem, a person with balanced outlook would stand by his opinion but not get into a roadside argument. This behavior can get perceived as running away from arguments, but if you are running away from a pointless shouting match even as you stick to your opinion, it is indeed the best thing to do. Recently as a reply to one of my posts which argued for standing up and voicing opinions, a friend pointed out the importance of silence. So yes, tactically even silence is a strategic tool used by a balanced person.
Developing a Balanced Mind: The Inner Battles
The second component to having a balanced life is to have a balanced mind. The road to developing a balanced mind is indeed tricky, especially with all the temptations and roadblocks that give company. By balanced mind, I do not mean a saint's mind. The idea is of a mind that is ready to take life as it is, has the guts to do what you believe in and does not succumb to any external pressure. A problem that many people see in even reading blogs such as this, is a feeling that these ideas are too idealistic and impractical. Part of the problem is with such ideas as well, many times they represent too extremist and idealistic viewpoints instead of talking about practical ones. Maybe even they are possible for a few in the long run, but they drive many people away from even experimenting with such ideas.
In many ways both balanced outlook and balanced mind are interlinked and overlap with each other on many fronts. A balanced mind shall be able to hold ground even under immense external pressure without loosing cool or slipping into anxiety/ tension. This is very important as it contributes in the effort to have a balanced life. The mind forms the outlook and the thoughts of mind gets influenced by the outlook one holds. By having a balanced mind, it does not mean that one does not get angry or sad etc. It means that even while going through all emotions, the person is able to have a balanced look at the situation at hand and adapt to it. Most conflicts are caused by ego which does not let a person look at the situation in an objective manner. Thus the battle against personal ego is a pillar for developing a balanced mind.
A Balanced life: An imaginary utopia?
Is the idea of leading a balanced life just like an imaginary utopia? Well the answer depends fairly on what you mean by a balanced life as discussed at the beginning of the blog. With the definition that we have assumed in all discussion so far, it is fair to say that the idea is practically possible. Getting into the practical questions of balancing work and leisure, family and workplace, studies and extra curricular etc. According to me the idea is not balancing these components but in balancing your attitude towards them! The idea is not to have 50% fun, 40% studies and 10% rest, Not at all!! The idea is to start enjoying the 100% that is life. Now how is that done? Here comes the catch, people do not actually hate work or studies or other people. What they do dislike is the pressure, anxiety etc that come along with them. So the fix is in having a balanced mind towards these problems and dealing with them using a balanced outlook. Here again it is important to note that certain problems will indeed have solutions that are achieved through struggle, strikes and other means. The idea of balanced mind does not mean a person surrenders to all problems around him, but on the contrary means he/she protests, fights, voices his/her views all when maintaining a balanced approach.
Developing a balanced lifestyle is equally important in the process of building a balanced life. Here again a balanced lifestyle varies from person to person, but in essence is about a simplistic and truthful way of life. It must always be kept in mind to live the life that you believe in, many people don't do that. Try to live a life that you truly believe is right and not the one that everyone wants you to.
Finally addressing the question of the need to have a balanced life, it is very important in-order to truly realize your potential, build a personality and for the advancement of entire society. So in essence the art of balancing life is not about being supernatural being, it is not about being beyond emotions, it is not about being above desires. So what is it about? It is about accepting life as it comes and adapting with it. A person who does not get emotional, does no laugh on silly jokes, is serious all the time is no human being. The goal is to have an emotionally sensitive yet strong minded, humorous yet responsible real human being. In a world that is busy building robots out of humans by measuring them on productivity, let us start changing the trend by returning to being human! And yes a balanced life is essential comrade on this journey! As the topic is a very vast and complex one, the discussion is always has to be left a little incomplete. Drop in all feedback and responses, a second blog on the same topic shall be done if any part needs further analysis.
The Revolution of Love Shall Win.
-Sreesreshta Nair(SN).
Comments
Post a Comment