Week Thirty-Six: Balancing Your Life

This week’s experiment relates to the one from last week, in that it addresses our choices, large and small, and the quality of these choices. As I sat in a movie theater watching Lord of the Rings, I found myself moved by a particular theme that is one of the central aspects of the story. The wizard, Gandalf, tells Frodo Baggins, the hobbit whose duty it is to return the ring to the fires in which it was forged, something that reminded me of a practice I’ve taken on this year. In the movie, Gandalf tells Frodo this important message: We can’t choose the times in which we live, but we can choose how we meet and respond to those times. For Frodo, this means to be committed to seeing his journey to the end, to dealing with what life has presented to him even though he didn’t ask for it, and being willing to walk into terrible danger to fulfill his duty. Most of us, thankfully, aren’t asked to engage quite such dramatic choices, but the times in which we live touch us all, and the opportunity to choose how we spend our days is – to some degree or another – open to each of us.

As I reflected on this theme later, walking home, I thought about how challenging it is for many people simply to get through the day, and here was an invitation to up the ante and focus even more on the quality of the time spent adapting, surviving, and thriving. And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to take stock of how you spend your time, of what activities you seek out and engage. Notice which activities leave you feeling nourished, inspired, fulfilled, and refreshed, and which may leave you feeling empty or distressed.

As with every experiment, there aren’t any right answers here. We’re each nourished by different kinds of activities and input. The key thing is to bring awareness to the quality of your life experience and to those activities that generate and support a greater sense of well-being.

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