Balance of LOVE

Fall is a time when things begin to fall like leaves, apples off the tree, and daily temperatures.  This process of falling is a way that nature gets back to balance in preparation for the next season.  You can apply this to your own life as well by evaluating what you need to let go (let fall) in order to move into your next phase of life; your next season.   
 
What you release/let go of is dependent on where you are in your life.  For example, a young adult just starting out on their own may need to let go of their parents’ support.  Parents may need to let go of their child going off to college.  Or perhaps just letting go of a situation in your life that no longer serves you in a healthy way. These are all examples of how you can let go to get back to balance in your life.
 
Balance is the second key to living a love focused life.  It means keeping oneself in equilibrium on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level.  This makes it easier to feel love for yourself and others. It takes time to create dynamic balance between all of the above levels. On a physical level, you can show your body love by meeting its nutritional, physical movement and sleep needs. On a mental level, it’s making sure your thoughts are positive and healthy which enhances your mental health and ability to feel love. If you get stuck in negative thinking, this can contribute to depression and anxiety. On an emotional level, regular processing of your negative feelings allows the brain to get back to balance and return to the positive feelings of love, joy, and happiness.  If you try to avoid painful feelings by numbing the negative feelings, the body can get out of balance.  An example is if you eat chocolate chip cookies or sugary foods every time you feel disappointed about something, you could become overweight more easily.  On a spiritual level, balance is achieved when you feel much more self-love and love for others than judgment or hate toward yourself or others.  If you feel more judgments or negative feelings toward yourself and/or other people then you will not be able to feel love or compassion. 
 
Balance is dynamic because it can change moment to moment based on your thoughts, feelings and behaviors at any given time.  External factors like life stressors, other people’s feelings and behaviors can also influence your balance depending on how you respond to the outside world. Your power is choosing how to respond to any outside situation or other people so you can stay in balance the best you can in the situation.  This is a lifelong practice where some days you hit the sweet spot of balance, while other days you are close and maybe even a few days totally out of balance.  No matter what, you always have the power in the present moment to make choices to get back toward balance.  Enjoy the best gift of being in balance, which is LOVE.