Originally posted on Amani Resources website, July 23, 2013
Welcome sweet summertime! Time for vacations and recreation. Time to push our work aside, to bask in the light of day, and to make time for play. This is the shift that sweet summertime invites us to make.
As the seasons change, we are reminded that, in the cycle of a day, a month, or a year we can be born again, know vitality and play, reap a great harvest, and embrace the silence of reflection and rest. And that in each moment, our choice to balance play, work and rest brings us closer to fulfillment and peace.
The blessing in our universal pursuit of pleasure and purpose is that balance is always available, always ready to get us centered, always inviting us to live in joy and love. — Panya
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Soul Story: Balance and Bliss
By Tasneem Grace Tewogbola
It is a gorgeous, glowing day here right where she needs to be: swaying in the Middle.
The sun is high, but not too high.
The air is warm, but not too warm.
And the breeze is cool, but not too cool.
It is perfect, right here, where she is meant to be: in the Middle.
This place – her soul zone – calls her name in shouts and whispers when she strays near its borders.
Take care now, my love. Not too close.
It demands her attention should she shift intentions from living inside out to outside in.
Seeking all that feels good, she drifts from her Spirit center. She leans too far to the left, or too far to the right.
She is we.
She works too hard. Or lounges too long. She listens too little. Or talks too fast.
She is we – wound up, slung over, beat down and dizzy with the Terrible Toos.
Yet she is just where she should be – restless and ready to hear: Come on back, my love, to the Middle.
And slowly, with relief, she recalls that bliss is the best compass.
She wraps herself in self-love and self-care and quick as light, she is back in balance.
It is a gorgeous, glowing day right here where she is: swaying in the Middle.
It is summertime and so she laughs and plays with enthusiasm – just as children do.
It is growing & healing season and so she plants seeds of sweetness and awaits abundance.
She raises her vibration with pedicures and city strolls, with music and ice cream, with half-price movie nights and playing hide-and-go-seek with her husband.
Her feet grip the Earth. She is steady and smiling and hopeful and whole.
Yet as magnificent as this feels, she is we. And none of us shall remain here, in the Middle.
Balance is what we seek; not where we stay.
One day – brimming with joy and certainty – she will again venture beyond the middle ground.
And again, seeking satisfaction, she will lean too far to the left, or too far to the right.
She may demand too much or serve too little. She may stay too quiet or speak too soon. She may love too loose or hug too tight.
She may feel low before Truth brings the high: Life does not have to feel like this;
my decisions drive my life.
She realigns her mind and shifts gears toward gratitude, health and wealth.
She lives the lesson she was born to teach: If we choose stress, we can also choose peace.
We can create new habits. Reject old thoughts. Play new games. Try new routes. Get more rest. Respect old priorities. Act in love. Trust life’s flow.
We can change, she says. And, relax; every fall is not fatal.
Every time we slip off-center we can rise to hear bliss beckoning, over and over,
again: You are never too far, or too late to come on back, my love, to the Middle.
