“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton

Balance is not about the amount of time allotted to work or play or sport or family or community activities.

It’s about our experience of those areas, our sense of connection to them, that creates meaning.

Balance is strictly attitudinal–and relative.

One intentional ten-minute walk, or a four-minute conversation with a friend, or two minutes of deep breathing with your eyes closed at your desk, can create an experience of internal balance even though the clock may not reflect it.

Actuarial tables show an alarming spike in death for men four years after retirement; they’ve lost a sense of purpose and not yet created enough meaning in their new lives to keep their embers burning.

Meaning matters. It stokes the fire of passion into a flame of purpose.

If you don’t find meaning during your challenging day-to-day life, what makes you think you’ll find it sitting on a beach somewhere? Maybe for two weeks or so, and then…?

It’s hard to maintain your balance without staying in motion. Even on a beach. That doesn’t mean your body is necessarily moving, but your heart and soul and sense of purpose are.

And you can do that at any time anywhere.

“Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man’s being.” ~Orison Swett Marden