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Hello -,
I started my journey of conscious personal growth at the age of 16. Meditations, psychology, spirituality, yoga – the whole shebang – from a very young age. And while many insights and learning edges changed along the way, one thing remained a constant truth throughout the journey: the importance of moderation.
The older I get, the less impressed I am by intensity.
I'm impressed by people who know how to leave the party before they're exhausted.
Who stop eating before they're full.
Who end the workday before burnout.
Coffee, alcohol, work, technology, food, exercise, ambition, alone time- so many things in life are great in moderation – and unhealthy when out of balance.
Not working might feel empty and meaningless, while working too much can lead to burnout.
No exercise is unhealthy for the body, while addictive over-exercising leads to injury.
Having no ambition would lead to disengagement from life's opportunities, while having too much of it would make you insensitive to yourself and others.
Spending no time with yourself would lead to disconnection from your own heart, hopes, and dreams, while spending too much time by yourself would disconnect you from other people.
My investigations into religious and spiritual approaches led me to realize they all highlight moderation as a crucial factor in leading a good life. Different words, different angles, and yet a similar message:
Aristotle talked about The Golden Mean.
Buddhism tells us of The Middle Way.
In Taoism we find the Balance between opposites.
Stoicism highlighted Temperance as one of the four virtues.
They all urge us to find balance.
Balance is such a beautiful word. In my own life, I find that things go wrong when my way of being is out of balance over the long term:
It might be ok to lose some sleep when I am passionate about a new project – but in the long term, it harms me. Its ok to drink a cup of coffee during the day, but when I have two or three, my body gets agitated. It’s great to work and fulfill my destiny, but too much of it and I burn out like a meteor in the sky. It’s important to meditate, but if I do it too much, I start to disconnect from life, family, work, and other aspects of everyday life.
The question is, how do we implement balance?
Most of us think of balance as standing still in the center – as if it is possible for us to never overeat or overwork or never binge-watch. But that’s not how life works.
Life is movement – we all drift and lose balance sometimes.
So the question is not “can I avoid imbalance?”
The question is "How quickly do I notice, and how gracefully do I return?"
Imagine the circus acrobat walking the tightrope – they are not perfectly centered – instead, they are swaying from left to right, constantly correcting to find balance.
Balance is a series of thousands of corrections:
You lose patience with your children - and then return.
You become obsessed with work - and then return.
You stop meditating for a month - and then return.
You eat half the chocolate cake - and then return.
You spend three hours scrolling your phone - and then return.
This is part of your humanness.
Moderation then becomes your lighthouse, guiding you back home, into balance.
Yours, in moderation,
Itai
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