Work/life balance is an issue that has been around for years. We often hear of juggling five balls as an analogy to balancing life. The five balls represent work, family, health, friends and spirit. Work is described as rubber and will always bounce back. However, the other four "balls of life" are made of glass and if dropped, will get nicked, damaged or completely shatter. This view is commonly accepted and the analogy, widely used. Although I believe this is a great visual analogy, I have one major problem with it. . . . the five balls are separate entities. Our life is one whole. Many separate the different roles and the different characteristics of their life from each other - work, family, health, friends and spirit - but is any one of these any less important to LIFE and WHO we are? I say no. Life is made up of all of these components, but each of these components are a piece of the whole. The way I see balance is not through juggling, but rather through fitting in all of the appropriate pieces to fit in a puzzle that make up who you are - one whole Life. Society and culture break apart our whole self by giving us "labels' and "roles" so that we can easily and neatly fit into the compartments of our environment: At work, you're a photographer. Maybe you're a business owner.
At home, you're a father or mother.
With friends, you're a jokester.
You get the idea. . . "labels" and "roles" are given to distinguish between each setting or situation. Oftentimes we buy into these compartments and separate our work life from our home life from our life with friends. This is why there is a need for balance with work and life. But in reality, you are one entity.
You are you all the time.
There is One Life.
How do you balance that? Ultimately it IS one life, one entity, so the balance comes by breaking down the walls that separate and divide the whole part of Life. Pulling away from the labels and roles and just "being" who you are. . . . With this concept, if you are "being" you all the time, then work, family, health, friends and spirit would fit into a package that is called YOU, there would be no need for "balancing" and "juggling." You feel happier. Life flows a lot easier. There is no more struggling. Imagine the possibilities! Life is in balance when every moment of every day you can be fully YOU.
Copyright (c) 2006 Susan H. Kim |
