Body-Mind-Spirit
When You Know That Your Life is Out of Balance
There are times in our lives when we question the direction that we are taking. We can feel that something is out of synch, out of balance with our innermost desires and hopes for our future.
These imbalances eventually will manifest in our outer world and we owe it to ourselves to pay attention, understand them, and take corrective action where necessary. We may choose not to take action, but hopefully we are at least aware of the implications to our life and overall well-being.
If we start our discussion at the spiritual level, we may agree that there is no wrong path in life. At the esoteric level, all roads lead home, that is, our spiritual home built on a lifetime of experiences. It just depends on which journey we want to take and which experiences we choose to go through (consciously or unconsciously, aware of them or not).
It is also important to remember that we are always in control, if we choose to exercise our power to choose. However, there are times when we can become lost (we do not know which way to go) or stuck (we know the destination but we do not seem able to take the kind of action that will get us there). These are the times when we need to pay attention to the signs. Hopefully, recognizing such signs and getting a better understanding that they are just symptoms of larger problems, can help us find the kind of harmonious balance in our lives that can lead to a more fulfilling life.
There are many more signs, but the ones below are just some of the more obvious ones we should be paying attention to:
Overthinking.This is one of the more common sign that we are not in balance in our life as there is way too much focus on the past and worry about the future to really be in the moment and clearly see things for what they are and be able to make the best possible decisions given our circumstances.
Absent Minded and Forgetfulness. Patterns in our lives do not happen in isolation. If we are finding ourselves forgetting or losing things, it may not just be our age, but our physical condition and health, the stresses in our life, etc. that can overwhelm our brains and cognitive skills. This is the time when a long walk (or many) in nature will help us get grounded and clear the cow webs. Meditation and mindfulness, as well as breathing techniques, can relieve the body and mind of the neurological overload and bring a sense of peace and stability which will lead to clear thinking.
Cluttered Home and Work Environment. As the external is just a reflection of the internal, a sign of a cluttered environment in our homes and work places, should ring a big bell. Besides spending extra money as a result of accumulating more than we need, the confusion alone of not knowing where everything is, leads to unnecessary stress and confusion in our lives.
This is a huge problem in today’s society as a whole, and the fact that the average Canadian family has accumulated $40,000 of unnecessary things in their homes, speaks to a larger problem that we can tackle if we understand its origin. For example, besides the rampant consumerism and its detrimental effect on our natural environment, clutter can indicate an avoidance to see things clearly as they are in our lives, or that we are avoiding clearing something from our past that is stuck in our subconscious mind.
Getting Sick Too Often. It is commonly known that when we overextend ourselves, we run down our immune system and tend to get sick more often. The body is telling us that we need to slow down and reconsider the direction of our life and the effort we are putting in for what we are getting out. We may also be running our lives based on what other people want and not on what we want, as when we pursue our dreams we are much more able to withstand all kind of stresses. When we recognize these signs, we are in a better position to change our life in a way that supports us in getting more rest, nourishment and improve our overall well-being.
Anxiety or Stress. Life itself is not immune of anxiety or stress but if we constantly feel it then we should be aware of where it is coming from and why. For example, if we dread the thought of going to work every day, maybe we are not in the right job for us. If we dread even talking with our partner, or we feel like we are walking on eggshell, then we may not be in the right relationship for us. At this point, it may be helpful to reconnect with ourselves, our needs and desires and purpose in life to make sure that we are aligned with our goals.
Feeling Bored or Stuck. This is a sign that we are not living up to our fullest potential. Life is full of amazing opportunities but a positive state of mind and clarity of purpose are necessary to energize our mind and bodies to move towards our goals. We may have become too comfortable with our lives and the comfort zone has now become our prison. We may be running on autopilot instead of living each day to the fullest and living in the moment.
Changing careers, travelling or picking up a new hobby are some of the practical things that we can do to move out of the rut, but many times it is more complicated than that since it is possibly a symptom of being trapped in the Matrix (as Matrix i mean the negative aspects of the current societal system in which we operate). In these cases, even knowing that change would be for the better does not seem to help, as there is too much inertia and not enough momentum (energy flows where our attention goes) to generate sufficient energy to take action. Escaping the Matrix is a subject for another article.
Becoming aware of what the signs are trying to tell us is the first step in being able to take action towards a better future for ourselves and our dear ones. In fact, like the Greek Stoic and Philosopher Seneca wrote thousands of years ago, we may not be able to control the direction of the wind but we can surely adjust the orientation of our sails.
