The desire to change something doesn’t always strike as a lightning-bolt epiphany. Sometimes it’s the low, slow burn of discontent that tells you everything’s not quite right, even if it looks great on paper.
In my own life, I’ve felt it more as the longing for a different way of doing, or thinking, or being – even if I couldn’t find the words to describe it right away. That’s where the work starts, in the exploration of the difference:
- How would you rather make a living?
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What changes to your lifestyle would more accurately reflect your priorities and values?
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How might you better deal with life’s frustrations and disappointments?
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What’s a more productive way of interacting with others?
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How do you really want feel at the end of a day, the end of a year, the end of a life?
The study of the space between where you are and where you want to be is where the work continues, too. Because, for all the bargaining and planning, some element of designing the life you want is a know-it-when-you-see-it kind of thing.
You’ve got to be actually living the delicate balance, feeling the alchemy in your bones, to know whether it’s working.
So each day, you check in and cultivate your inner wisdom. Each day, you feed the scales a little more, taking a pinch here and adding a dash there. Each day, you practice feeling where there’s ease and where there’s tension, and finding the evenness in between.
“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” –Thomas Merton
