Balance—finding the midpoint
A common precursor to illness is a life that is out of balance. There is a center point to almost everything. Find that midpoint and your life not only comes into balance, but you can also achieve your goals more easily.
Diet, sleep, exercise, and relaxation all have their midpoints. The right amount of each will strengthen your system, but too much or too little will weaken you. Avoid the dangerous tendency to think, “More is better.”
You will inevitably experience stress, depression or anxiety if some aspect of your life is out of balance. Take time to look at the major areas of your life: work, relationships, diet and the like—and identify their balance points. It is vital to realize that total well-being is impossible without balance. Wellness finds its home in a well-balanced life.
Friendship—like attracts like
Many studies have shown that strong friendships support wellness. Good friends let us relax into our comfort zone. They can be a valuable source of encouragement because we trust their input. Friends don’t always have to agree with each other; in fact a certain amount of give and take allows us to consider different viewpoints. But the goodwill of friendship is a precious gift.
If you are feeling a lack of friendship you can prime the pump by befriending others. One of the laws of life is that like attracts like. Being a friend is more important than having a friend.
Find time for friendship even if your schedule is hectic. Don’t let a week pass without spending time with a friend, even if it is just by phone. Friendship is like the warm glow of the sun—the tree of health withers and dies when it is absent for too long.
An expansive consciousness puts things in perspective
It is important to have a broad perspective. Problems can ruin our sense of proportion, whether they concern health, finances, relationships, or whatever. Self-involvement makes even small things seem huge. A simple cold feels as if it will never end.
Expansive consciousness reduces concerns about health to their proper size, helping us to see everything against a backdrop of eternity. To be effective, expansiveness needs to become a daily habit. One of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself is to be a channel for love and friendship.
See yourself as a source of light for the world. Befriend the people you meet today. Let kindness pour through you like a springtime stream. We are blessed and healed, not by what we possess, but by what flows through us.
True love is not about receiving
Love is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. The power of attraction holds families together and keeps the planets in their orbits. Yet a lot of what passes for love has a kind of merchant quality to it—“If you give me this, I’ll give you that.” True love is not about receiving but rather an expression of the universal desire for connection and unity. The deepest love is universal— a resonance between your heart and others.
Here is a technique to expand your love. It is best practiced in meditation, but can be done anytime you are calm and aware: Sensitively feel for the quality of love in your heart. Now expand that sensation to fill your whole body, bathing every cell. This alone will be a potent healer. But don’t stop here. Let your love continue to expand outward, until it touches each person in your life. Make your love so powerful that it embraces everyone and everything on the planet.
Now take that powerful force, condense it and share it with everyone you meet today. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone would do this. Love alone would cure the world’s ills.
