Balance is impossible

[00:00:00] You are listening to the Daily Five, an experimental podcast by Aurooba, where I talk about something for five minutes. So let's get to it, shall we? I think one of the core issues I've been struggling with for the past few months is balance. I've definitely talked about the different seasons of life, the ebb and flow of productivity and rest, and of course, the concept of the four burners theory has come up time and time again.

[00:00:39] In essence, I've spent a lot of episodes proving that balance is not possible. And yet here I am constantly wanting to find a balance and doing so is maybe making me slip into even more imbalance because of it. I think it's natural to want to balance our work and personal lives, our relationships, and our hobbies.

[00:01:05] It's the curse of being human, wanting it all. However, the reality is that balance is impossible to achieve, which maybe explains why so many ancient traditions and religions talk about balance and moderation. Also, it's maybe a little ironic that I'm talking about wanting to achieve balance during the month of Ramadan, when I spent the better part of a day abstaining from all food and drink, and I can only consume things between sunset and dawn.

[00:01:40] You know, there is nothing balanced about that. Our lives are constantly changing. We may have a balanced-ish routine and then something unexpected happens throwing everything off balance. Like I talked about yesterday, we cannot control everything that happens in our lives. And I think balance kind of hmm, assumes a very high level of control over your life, which may or may not be possible in every, in every person's situation.

[00:02:14] You know, even something expected could happen, but it still throws everything off balance. I remember when I got married, I'd been planning my wedding and figuring out what a life living with my partner would look like for over a year. But when it finally happened, it still took a couple of months for us to adjust to that very massive change and find a rhythm.

[00:02:37] And then of course, you know, our priorities also shift over time. You can see that even in the course of this podcast's run. Where this podcast sits on my scale of priority has shifted over time. What we value most in our lives right now just may not necessarily be what we value most next year, or even in the next quarter.

[00:02:59] Our priorities change as we grow, experience new things, and meet new people, and this can make it difficult to maintain balance. Maybe balance requires a certain amount of non-change. Honestly, I think part of my stress these past few months has come from directly trying to achieve balance. And then of course when I can't, I feel guilty or anxious, which can have its own spiraling effect or sometimes a frozen effect.

[00:03:28] So maybe the thing is, I should aim for harmony. The concept of harmony allows us to ...accept the ebb and flow of our lives, to embrace change, and to prioritize what is most important to us in the moment. In theory, it is a more flexible and realistic approach because it doesn't require everything to remain the same, but...

[00:03:54] In practice, I don't actually know what that means. What does harmony look like? What does it look like to maintain a harmonious outlook or approach to not only all the external obligations you have, but also maybe the war of all your different interests and desires, constantly trying to win against each other internally.

[00:04:15] I can't be the only one who wants to do so many things that it drives me bonkers, right? I don't know if I'll ever have this figured out. I think I have it figured out and then something happens and it's all out of whack again, maybe that's the nature of life and harmony is about having that happen and then readjusting again and again.

[00:04:38] I'm realizing that this episode has turned very philosophical, but uh, I guess that's what's been on my mind today. Thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.