A Fine Balance

~ by Stephanie Ross

rise naturally

– give your body the sleep it needs

rise early

– give your being the practice it needs

work to meet the basic needs

– and relax into healing and play

eat

– but not too much

drink lots of water

– but not so much you never leave the toilet

enjoy a treat

– but only on holidays

and without much sugar or salt

and preferably with a protein

A fine balance indeed.

we learned balance on the playground

– teetertotters

– beams to cross

– movement on the swings

when work was play

and play didn’t notice the work

we relearned balance in adulthood

– balance the chequebook

– balance time with a partner, the children, a vocation, yourself

– balance the commute time with the cost of housing

– balance quality with cost or with the time driving to achieve both

when life became work

and play went missing

The pivot point on the teetertotter now far off in the distance.

III

we can examine balance in Yuan Gong practice

– on one foot

– into three Dantians

– Qi flowing freely

– harmony in mind and heart

Paradoxically being inside, inside, inside is more balanced than half in and half out.

we can examine imbalance in life cultivation

– False Self patterns vs. True Self wisdom

– closing in on doubt vs. opening into trust

– what we see and pretend to know vs. what’s really underneath it all

– what we desire vs. what we need

– what we understand vs. the totality of the situation

We need to know where we are so we know how to return to that pivot point.

unbalanced in ignorance we spiral inward each day, each breath, each moment to relearn

– bring ourselves back to center

– the pivot point within

– that place which holds us steady

So we can make smaller and smaller corrections to keep ourselves on track.

we learned it on the outside when the teetertotter was play

we can learn it on the inside, to know this work as play

to swing into the joy that is already there

balance as natural

grasping at external goals

as the very thing

that throws us off center

when instead, we can stand in our center

arms free and relaxed

focused inside

listening to wisdom and learning

then –

as our inner smile returns,

we wonder how

it could ever have gone missing in the first place

A Finer Balance than we ever knew possible.

Stephanie Ross is a Ren Xue Yuan Qigong teacher. She began teacher’s training after she was handed Yuan Tze’s book Voyage to the Shore upon sailing into New Zealand in 2011. She’s used these principles to carry her through personal healing, homeschooling sensitive children, and as an anchor during intense life changes and family illness.

She has taught Ren Xue and Yuan Qigong as part of a trauma recovery program, in a residential addiction recovery center for women, for Ren Xue America’s Deep Dive program and At Home Learning one-to-one sessions. She was a contributing writer for the Qiblog and loves to write life cultivation poetry. Stephanie currently serves on Ren Xue International’s Norms and Ethics Council, facilitates Ren Xue Teachers’ training, and teaches online classes.

Her poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction stories have been published internationally. Publications include Surging Tide Magazine, Passionfruit Review, RXA Qiblog, Quail Bell, Roses & Wildflowers, and forthcoming in Author’s Publish 2023 poetry anthology.

You can often find her walking in a coastal forest with her 67 pound lap dog Pepper or curled up with two cats, husband, and two teens on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Bringing wisdom teachings to life is her passion and she believes everyone can uplift life in a profound and beautiful way when they have effective tools, support, and a healthy determination.

You may connect with her or read some of her work through her website or social media: https://bio.site/StephanieRoss