The Happiness of Balance
I was reading about the concept of balance when I came across two quotes. The first, by Trappist monk and poet Thomas Merton said, “Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
I thought about that, about the calm, deep center from which happiness arises. Although it splashes and ripples and sparkles with joy when it bursts out into the world, the core of happiness, its wellspring, is indeed a beautiful point of perfect harmony and balance. It’s the state where genuine mindfulness takes you, the perspective that allows you to perceive the world’s glorious rhythmic order and grace, and to feel its reflection in your own being.
But how do we find that spot in the midst of the upheavals and stresses life brings us? The second quote I found, from science fiction writer Frank Herbert, held the clue: “There’s no secret to balance,” he said. “You just have to feel the waves.”
What put the two quotes together in my mind was the memory of a wonderful poster I saw years ago. A laughing, white-bearded guru in a soaking wet gown was speeding down the edge of an enormous wave on a surfboard, his arms outstretched, hair flying in the wind. “You can’t stop the ocean from flowing,” the caption said, “but you can learn to surf its waves.”
That’s what Herbert was saying. The key isn’t in pretending the waves don’t exist, or in trying to stay on their crests, but in staying centered as you ride them. It’s in understanding that the surface of life’s ocean is a turbulent affair, where highs are followed by lows that give way to new highs. Gladness is followed by sorrow that gives way to another round of gladness in wave after wave after wave. Happiness is allowing yourself to feel the peaks and troughs with your whole being so you can glide with them in harmony, centered in your awareness that it’s all just the rhythm of the ocean’s flowing dance.
You might also like...
Posted in 
