Happy July 1st! Welcome to the literal and figurative halfway point of the year.
On this specific day of the year, we have the unique occasion of having one foot in the past and one foot in the future.
This idea of being in the middle makes one think of balance especially when it comes to living our lives. Obvious questions might be "Did we get done what we hoped on January 1st" or "What do we still want to get do?"
Having it all means having a balance between all the elements that make up our lives: work, family, social, and pursuits like Aikido training.
Furuya Sensei said, "Training is like brushing one's teeth - it must be done daily." With that in mind each aspect of our lives like work, family, social, and training are like each one of our individual teeth which must be brushed daily. We cannot make any single one more important than the others - each deserves its just desert.
Life has a way of getting in the way, but if we let any one aspect over take any other then balance is lost. Albert Einstein said, "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." Keeping moving means doing our best to strike a balance between our work, families, social obligations, and, of course, training.
Aikido training teaches us that life is a matter of balance. What we want out of life depends on what we put into it. Balance requires that we put a little here, take a little away from there in a constant process of evaluation.
Today is the beginning of the rest of the year. How will you maintain your balance?