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thoughts

Balance

I have been preparing a talk about balance based on Doctrine and Covenants 10:4. It has been interesting finding material and noticing how general the topic of balance in life is. I have categorized the general areas of balance as: internal balance, interpersonal balance, and balancing your responsibilities. I have also noticed a connection between all three types of balance – the only way to achieve any of those areas of balance effectively or sustainable is by seeking balance using eternal principles to guide the priorities which define the balance we seek.

I have thought of a good analogy for balance. I am still working on the details and I will post them here as I round out the image, but here is the basic gist of it.

Consider the gyroscope; when it is stopped it is impossible to have it stand up for any sustained period of time. When the gyroscope is spinning it will stand on its own, the faster it spins the more stable it is. When it is very fast it is so stable that we can use it as a means of guiding much larger objects such as airplanes.

What is our gyroscope? – I believe that our values are our gyroscope. Those values are only stable if the gyroscope is spinning. The way we spin our gyroscope is to do the little things that keep us in touch with God and ourselves. These things include regular prayer, scripture study and meditation or introspection.

That’s all on balance for now but I hope to add more soon.

By David

David is the father of 8 children. When he's not busy with that full time occupation he works as a technology professional. He enjoys discussing big issues with informed people, cooking, gardening, vexillology (flag design), and tinkering.