We have just passed the Autumn equinox, when day and night are of equal length (just as they are at the Spring equinox). At this point of the year, everything comes to a perfect balance: no more, no less, just exactly what needs to be and what ought to be. Light does not spill over night-time, and darkness makes room for daylight equanimously. It reflects exactly the Yin-Yang symbol of harmony. Of course that moment does not last; it marks a transition – in this case a transition towards Winter, nature withdrawing to regenerate inwardly, and our bodies instinctively preparing for a less active life over the months to come.
Many lessons can be drawn from this time of the year; yet one we rarely take the time to ponder on is the value of feeling we are perfectly in balance within ourselves, no more and no less. The purpose is not perfection in the sense of achieving an idealised outcome. The purpose is neither to seek an absolute 50-50 distribution of our energies, thoughts and emotions. Rather, here we can explore balance as allowing ourselves to be in a state that reflects what we are feeling, thinking, experiencing at that moment. Bringing awareness to the contradictions we may feel in ourselves, but letting them be. Appreciating what we feel we can do and what we feel we cannot or do not want to do just now – setting aside just for that moment all the ‘should’, ‘must’ and other judgements the mind is so quick to express.
Being at ease with no more and no less than we are is also important in our relationship with our intimate self. When we embark on a journey of self-exploration, there is a great risk to find ourselves caught in an endless quest for ever greater improvement and self-mastery: there is always more to discover, more to overcome, more to cleanse, more to process. And consequently we may feel we are never quite enough despite all the inner work we do. But what if we were to pause in our quest and learn to enjoy being where we are at, and sensing that this is who we are – no more and no less? We do not need to be ‘more’ than that, nor do we need to be ‘less’ than that. In that pause, in that awareness of the moment as it is, we are effectively just being our self, a self in a state of perfect balance. The moment may not last, because life is dynamic and calls for movement; but the pause before and after the dynamic movement is also invaluable.
What does it feel to tell yourself you do not need to be more and do not need to be less than what you are at this moment?
How aware are you of the need to pause before moving again? What role do these pauses (in whichever form) play in your life?