The best and safest thing is to keep
a balance in your life, acknowledge
the great powers around us and in us.
If you can do that, and live that way,
you are really a wise person.

Euripides

  

Weakness and strength are necessary for balance.  No one or nothing is only
weak or only strong.  But some of us overlook our weaknesses, and even deny
that we have them.  That can be dangerous, because denying there is a weakness
is in itself a weakness.  Likewise, accepting that we have weaknesses becomes
a strength.  And by the same token, overestimating strength is a weakness.  You should not be blinded by your strengths.  The feeling of strength is not the same as having strength.  Neither should you ignore your weaknesses.  Know them well, too.

Joseph M. Marshall III

      
Balance in your life between work and your personal life is very
important.  Without balance, you eventually burn out, negatively
affecting your performance at work.

Byron Pulsifer

  
Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the earth.

Deepak Chopra

   
We in the West don't think much in terms of balance,
and obviously we should.  Even the very thought of an
exquisite union and balance of all our forces, both
physical and mental, has a gentle, hopeful ring
to it. . . . All of us must find a bridge between our
physical and spiritual parts.  When that balance is
achieved, what a happy comfort for ourselves!

Edward J. Lavin

 

We can be sure that the greatest hope for maintaining equilibrium
in the face of any situation rests within ourselves.

Francis Braceland

   
   

   

One of the things I find fascinating about God’s creation is the way he seems to temper the negative environmental elements with corresponding positive ones.  For instance, without the nearly ceaseless rains of the northwest, no incomparable green scenery would greet the eye from all directions.
And the snow that snuggles atop Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens would not exist if, at lower elevations, there were no rain. . . . God’s creative style ensures that something wonderful will offset something less than wonderful.  In everything God seems to be balanced.

Marilyn Meberg

   

Life is often messy, uncertain, and unpredictable.  Sometimes it's a string
of troubles that seem to never end.  That's normal.  Ups and downs
are normal.  Being ill on occasion is normal.  Feeling peaceful and happy
are normal.  Occasional low-energy days are normal.  According to Chinese
medicine, it is accepted as natural that we fluctuate from being in balance
to being out of balance.  Peace of mind comes from not attaching a great
deal of significance to either state.  We simply note our moods and
physical states and gently move toward balance as best we can,
accepting it all as part of the flow of life.

Charlotte Davis Kasl

   
   

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Learning not to grapple with every little thing that comes along
is quite a struggle for many of us.  The eggs are too runny;
the coffee is not hot enough; the clothes don’t fit exactly perfectly.
Some of us have so fashioned our lives around perfecting the details
of the small stuff that we never catch a glimpse of the bigger picture.
We so distract our lives with details and convincing ourselves that
everything matters that we live out of harmony and out of balance.

Anne Wilson Schaef
   

Are you balanced?  Do you share your time, your energy, your life, as much
with yourself as you do with those around you?. . . . Know your limits.
You are one of the most important people you need to look after and love.
Balance your time, your energy, your life with those around you.  You'll be able
to give more freely and joyfully as a result, and you'll be more open to the
gifts of the universe.  It's not wrong to give to others.
But it's okay to say yes to ourselves, too.

Melody Beattie

   

Fortunate indeed are the people who take exactly the right measure of themselves and hold a just balance between what they can acquire and what they can use.

Peter Latham

Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life.
It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them.

Thomas Kinkade

Live a balanced life--learn some and
think some and draw and paint and sing and
dance and play and work every day some.

Robert Fulghum

    

  

Balance is the perfect state of still water.
Let that be our model.
It remains quiet within and is not disturbed on the surface.

Confucius

   
   

The cost of success will be too high if you choose not to lead a balanced life.

Linda Stryker

  

The Amish love the Sunshine and Shadow quilt pattern.  It shows
two sides--the dark and light, spirit and form--and the challenge of
bringing the two into a larger unity.  It's not a choice between
extremes:  conformity or freedom, discipline or imagination,
acceptance or doubt, humility or a raging ego.  It's a
balancing act that includes opposites.

Sue Bender

   
   
Balance is the key to my serenity.  I attain balance by listening to my
inner wisdom and to the wisdom of others.  There is no situation in which
I cannot find a point of balance.  There is no circumstance in which I
cannot find inner harmony.  As I ask to be led into equilibrium and clarity,
I will find that my answers come to me.  I am wiser than I know, more capable
of right action and attitudes than I yet believe.  In every event, I seek
the balance point of God's action through me.

Julia Cameron

   

  

We need to find the "middle way" in our own lives.  It is the art of
finding balance.  Reflecting upon our lives, we soon discover what
serves us well--nurturing calmness, ease, and simplicity.  We also
discover what it is that leads to entanglement, confusion, distress, and
anxiety.  Wisdom is being able to discern the difference, then knowing
what we need to nurture and what we need to learn to let go.

Christina Feldman

   
The Balanced Self
Wilferd A. Peterson

The man walks out on the high wire over empty space, sways above the breathless crowd, defies the law of gravity. . . .

The successful living of a life can be compared to walking across a high wire.

The indispensable quality needed is balance.

The balanced self is the well-integrated self.  A harmonious combination of all the constructive elements of personality makes the self whole.

The balanced self practices moderation, avoids extremes, follows the maxim "Not anything too much."

The balanced self meets the challenges of life with equanimity.  It is neither exalted by success nor dejected by failure.  It meets despair with hope and climbs the heights with humility.

The balanced self maintains mental equilibrium. It has ideals without illusions.  It separates fact from fancy.  It keep a level head.

The balanced self is mature.  It considers everything from a grown-up viewpoint balanced by a child's simplicity.

The balanced self balances dreams with action.  It uses the power of inner thought to inspire outer achievement.  And it uses action to stimulate further dreams.

The balanced self guards against quick emotional reactions.  It does not jump to impulsive conclusions.  It delays action until it has had time, calmly and fairly, to balance all the factors involved.

The balanced self is resilient; it is flexible to change.  Like a tree in the wind, it bends without breaking.

The balanced self knows the error of constant effort.  It renews itself through prayer and relaxation, that it may apply a higher impact of energy and creative power to the task at hand.

The balanced self lives a balanced life.  It balances work and play, love and worship.

The balanced self maintains the I AM of the spirit at the center of self, in full command of its destiny.

    




A new expanded edition of Just for Today from Living Life Fully Publications:
Over a year of "Just for Today" passages from our popular e-mail daily quotations, and our new expanded edition includes over 180 reflections on those thoughts.  Full of ideas and focal points that you can use to help to make your day brighter and more fulfilling as you focus on different ways of giving and awareness of the blessings in your life!  Click on the image to the left for the print version.    
Kindle Version

   
Also available:  Daily Meditations, Year One
One full year's worth of our daily meditations that until now have been available only on our site or through e-mail.  Now you can have the entire first year's worth of daily meditations for just $2.99 on your Kindle.  (Print edition available here.)
   

   

To live in a harmonious balance of commitments
and pleasures is what I strive for.

Jane Rule

   

I believe we're called to give our best to God; our work should be
done with gusto and quality.  But we're also called to lives of
balance, and when we get out of balance, our work becomes
a legalistic going-through-the-motions, not something filled with
heart.  Our work becomes more important than the people who it's
intended for.  Our lives are guided by our heads and not our hearts.

Bob Welch