A Little Off Kilter, Out Of Whack, And Not Balanced

After writing yesterday's post about life being silent, I began to think about other reasons that might cause life to not seem as in sync as it could.  (Did anyone else just think *NSYNC?  Just me?  Ok - moving on then).  Today was a beautiful day here in Nashville and I decided to leave work a couple of hours early so that I could go for a run and enjoy being outside.  As soon as I got home, I changed into my running clothes, laced up my sneakers, pressed "play" on my iPod and took off!  After a few minutes I remembered how much I enjoy running and how it is not only a way to stay healthy, but also a way to relieve stress and free my mind.  Running is one of the very few times in my life where I experience a time to clear my thoughts.  Most of the time, my brain is working overtime with all kinds of random thoughts (it is crazy in my head sometimes - not psycho killer crazy, just random crazy) but when I run, I can usually get to a place where I zone out and just simply run.  As Katy Perry was singing in my ear (love her new song!), all the frustrations and doubts faded away and I really began to focus more on what is good in my life and what is needed to overcome any obstacles in my way.  Running is when a majority of my ideas are formed - because that is when I am thinking very clearly. 

What I realized tonight as I ran was that my life had been somewhat out of balance the last few weeks.  Yesterday I mentioned that it had been a few weeks since I had been to church.  It had also been a couple of weeks since I had been running.  I have not spent much time working on my new book either.  I had not been as focused on what is important to me and that was causing me to get a little crazy (hence, the painting above).  Yes, there are times that life happens and twenty four hours is simply not enough time to get it all done.  Other people need us, situations come up, and life does not always follow our schedule.  We cannot beat ourselves us when that happens but we also have to know what is needed in our lives to try and stay balanced.  For me, running is a great way for me to stay balanced.  Going to church helps to feed what is needed on the inside and to remind me of what life is truly about.  Writing is a way for me to express what is going on in my head and exercise a talent I believe God has given me.  These things along with others help promote a healthy, much needed balance in my life and out of that comes postive growth. 

For you, it could be many other things.  You know what they are.  I almost feel guilty sometimes saying that my life is too busy because I am single with no kids and many of you have much more on your plate than I do.  However, I believe that we can all relate to that feeling when things just seem to not be in alignment.  My guess would be that when we feel that way, we need to stop and think about what is missing that causes us to be out of balance.  It is not selfish to take a little time for yourself - whether it's five minutes or an entire day.  Make sure that you are allowing yourself the opportunity to recharge and refocus so that we can be used to make a difference in the world around us. 

Find the balance. 


This Thursday, March 1st is the next GIVE-A-WAY!!!!!!  One lucky reader will win one of my favorite cookbooks - Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals!  Make sure you are a follower and I will announce the winner in 2 days!!!  I am also going to share a video from the Jimmy Kimmel show this past Sunday - if you didn't see it and you love Oprah like I do, you will want to watch!