balance verses harmony

 

Alright, here we go again with my research. When I compare something, it makes more sense when I can see what the difference is, so it makes it worth looking it up.  I wanted to know the differences between balance and harmony. I mean I know what I thought the difference was but what does the dictionary say?

What’s the definition for balance?

noun. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise. mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

What is the best definition of harmony?

noun, plural har·mo·nies. agreement; accord; harmonious relations. a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity. Music. any simultaneous combination of tones.

 

A Facebook friend of mine posted something last week and it spoke to me as being very profound that I and others could incorporate in our lives to maybe think outside of our box and the way that we are conditioned to believe things are supposed to be, something more purposeful to strive for, harmony.

I don’t know how many of you are like me and have been told all our lives to prepare for the future, plan ahead, and make sure to balance our lives. Balance health, religion, home life, relationships, work, exercise, hobbies and all the other things going on simultaneously.

This is one thing I have struggled with, especially over the past year and a half, is trying to balance everything in our new life. Grieving, living, health, sadness, happiness, work, school, accomplishments, activities, relationships both maintaining and building new ones and all the other things that are still going on in our daily lives even though we are grieving, everything around us didn’t stop and we shouldn’t either. But balancing it all and not falling apart or failing miserably at times, making mistakes, and learning new things at the same time, finding what makes us happy, and still serving others, being kind and loving to one another is a true juggling act. I have been stressing how I want to be able to balance things out for our lives to run more smoothly and for us to find an acceptance going forward to make our lives enjoyable and particularly less exhausting emotionally with all the ups and downs.

I had the pleasure of hearing Sherry Williams speak at a bruncheon last Spring thanks to Suzy Levenda who puts on the best Women of Strength conferences you could possibly imagine, she has the biggest heart and loves to see others grow and heal through their positive encounters. Sherry was an amazing speaker and her story was inspiring. She stresses how the effects of any life experience can be your excuse… or your power. She makes it her power. If you are interested in finding out more you can visit her site at wisdomsgateway.com.

Her post that resonated with me said this.

Balance is not the goal Harmony is. A scale in balance is stagnant. A vibrant life flows and shifts. – Sherry

Read that again.

I had to read it several times. It hit me the first time, but I needed to make sure what I thought I read would stick. My first thought was my cabin, my mom, prior to her passing away, when she bought our cabin in Pinetop that we Airbnb, she named it Harmony Cabin. I never really asked why. It seemed appropriate. A place where we could escape and be in harmony, with nature, with our loved ones, and with ourselves.

When I think of balance I think of an old fashioned scale, a weight on each side that levels out each other. I never thought of it as stagnant, but her quote made me look at the word from a different perspective. Stagnant is boring. I don’t think we are called to live boring lives. I absolutely love music and harmony makes me think of all the songs I listen to and love that make me feel alive or words that vibrate with my mood or experiences. I have listened to more music and songs and their meanings over the course of the past year than I have ever particularly paid attention to how a song’s lyrics made me feel and how beautiful their harmonies can be.  Harmonies do flow and shift and so do our lives. Our lives are not meant to stay the same consistency all the time.

Her words made me reflect deeper on how I want to be able to find a groove that works for Paxton and I over a balance, we don’t always put the same weight on all the things in our life, nor do we put the same weight on things that others do. That is the beauty of it we have the freedom to choose the things we find the most important and how we prioritize what it is we do. We all have different purposes and finding harmony in all the things we do seems like it should be the ultimate goal. Just like the songs we like to listen to, certain notes and lyrics, as well as songs with multiple artists singing together have more weight over others and it is finding that perfect harmony to make it all come together that we should be striving for our lives to find the perfect flow that works for us.

If you have been striving to find balance in your life, maybe take a step back and consider harmony instead and see where that takes you.