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"There is an Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms: a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” -Rumer Godden
Isn't that a lovely quote? I fell for it just as soon as I read it. To me, it encapsulates all that makes us uniquely human beings. I have yet to see a tree ponder the absurd heat that we are experiencing weather, taxes, fitness goals or the right to bear arms. Trees don't seem to worry about going bald each Fall, the circumference of their trunk, old age or the new Maple next door. No we are the only ones created to encompass aspects of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. In our soul resides the simple and the complex. (Mostly the simple... because I think we tend to make things too complex at times, but that's another blog post...) We are part of the Divine paradigm, which (if you will open your heart to it) is really such a beautiful thing.
Rumer Godden reminds me how important it is to live a balanced life full of simplicity, love, enjoyment, discipline and moderation. It is so easy to become preoccupied obsessed with managing one aspect of life. Whether it's extreme workouts and compulsive calorie counting, searching for self esteem through the pursuit of knowledge, acting and reacting like a fool about everything anybody says or does, or operating like a zealot with a list of rules for yourself and others, I have found that attempting to manage (READ: control) one aspect of life is not the way we're supposed to live. Balance, which is found through maturity and discipline, is key. In regards to the examples above, balance may mean that exercise and healthy choices are important, yet I can eat cake once in awhile. It may also mean that I quench my thirst for knowledge without attaching self worth to the pursuit or that I respond rather than react and mind my business (not so much God's or anyone else's...).
I believe God takes us on an an individual journey towards Balance to give us a glimpse of Paradise. The route, experience and the expedition itself are designed for us to fully live in the encounters of every day while we nurture our souls and tend to the rooms of our heart. We are designed to be whole because a fragmented life will not suffice. You know it and so do I. So today let's clean house or at very least open the windows to let in some fresh air.
