Amy Lu's View

Yesterday the world was in perfect balance–at least when it comes to the length of daylight and night. As it was the Fall Equinox, we had an equal amount of dark and light.

The Equinox feels like a beautiful metaphor for equanimity, but it makes me anxious. I love fall–the beauty of the trees changing color is so intense and fleeting it almost hurts–but I hate that the days are getting shorter and colder. And I’m dreading that winter is on its way. I’m not a fan of winter, especially now, when getting together with people indoors is not going to be a good idea (not to mention that winter makes running unpleasant at best).

So clearly I could (and am) doing a lot of complaining about the changing of the seasons, but I am also trying to respect the lessons fall has to teach me. Not only to pay attention to and savor transient pleasures, but to think about balance.

Actually, our church had a service exploring balance about a month ago. It encouraged me to think about the many different meanings of balance and when balance may not be a desired state.

Because that’s my default understanding of balance–it’s “good,” right? A balanced diet, work-life balance, a balanced checkbook, emotional balance, a balanced perspective–aren’t these all things to strive for? If you lose your balance, you’re likely to fall.

Yes, balance is often a beautiful, healthy, peaceful state–but maybe too much balance would get boring? Would the trees ever get to display their magnificent fall colors if they weren’t swinging from one extreme to another?

Hmmm, now it feels like I’m just spouting cliches and making excuses for my bad choices.

Maybe the balance I’m looking for is a mix of honesty, hope, originality, courage, compassion, connection, drama and peace.

And the perfect lighting/makeup balance that will make me look as good as possible on Zoom calls.