It often starts with a story

This post highlights the reasons for why I am seeking a balanced life. Fictional and factual. It also highlights the areas of life that I consider important in my quest for life balance.

The story

Once upon a time, in a land right here, lived a man with a mission.

Tired and weary he was after long struggles. Not bitter, not twisted but a tad malcontent. Epiphanies were no stranger to this man but he knew all too well that they usually dwelt in the realm of spirit. His spiritual bank account was well into the black but, alas, it would seem that there were few who cared for such things in the overly conditioned world upon which he walked.

He knew all too well that 97% of the world's wealth lay in the hands of 3% of the population. Unfortunately for him he dwelt among the 97% that laboured for the remaining 3.

The rich earn interest while the poor pay it.

'Paints a pretty picture. Doesn't it? '

He was not so sure.

So he once again asked the question that he had done many times in his life.

'Why? '

The list of 'whys' were many and he sometimes wondered on their scale. But not for long. For his intuition told him. He was not alone.

So in his wisdom he made a pact with himself. To search and seek, for he had always been a seeker. The way may be a hard one but it was a necessary journey because, quite frankly, the life he had been sold was not working.

'As above so below' he said to himself, knowing that the above was blessed with a shining radiance. The below, unfortunately, did not seem to match.

Now there was a thing to ponder. Making it match.

'How?' he asked himself.

Then it dawned on him.

Honesty.

'Honesty is the key.'

Being honest

With regards to myself I did not find it difficult to be honest. I am very aware when I feel unhappy and I also find it pretty easy to find the cause. In my case it was stress. Plain and simple. I was spending sixty hours a week working which did not take commuting into account either. So my next step was to work out my hourly pay rate based on the time I spent working as opposed to the thirty five hours that appeared on my pay check.

That was interesting to say the least. I just wish I had realised it years ago. I take my work seriously and have never had a day off for sickness since I started in 1991, but I now began to believe, that maybe, I had made the wrong career choice.

Taking action

I resigned from my job after just a little bit of pondering. That was two and half years ago. I am still here and I am surviving.

I still teach but I now do supply teaching. It is very hand to mouth and I do not know when I will work. But in terms of my time, my hourly rate has gone up and I am far less stressed. I have more free hours as a result of avoiding full time work as a teacher. I have also spent the last two years looking into other ways to earn income and work in a smarter way. This in itself has been a revelation and still very much a work in progress. This is something I will address at another time in other posts. But I will take this opportunity to quote Warren Buffett.

The most important investment you can make is in yourself

Which made me think of a recurring conundrum.

WHEN I HAVE SUFFICIENT MONEY I DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME.

WHEN I HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME I DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT MONEY.

Does this resonate at all?

My main motivation

To solve this conundrum and live a balanced life.

So what is life balance?

What does it look like? Where do I find it? How much will it cost?

Is it really achievable?

Valid questions of course, but then, after not much thought, I quickly concluded that a balanced life looks very different for each individual. And rightly so!

As I have previously stated my life balance journey started as a result of realising that working for a living was taking up most of my life and I just couldn't fit anything else in.

Sound familiar?

So what is balance for me? I have decided that there are 7 main areas of my life that I would like to devote constructive time to.

They are:

1. Work. Obviously this is a tricky one.

2. Creativity. I have hobbies and things I want to do that seem to only get crammed into the tired hours.

3. Spirituality. This is very important to me. I am not talking religion.

4. Health.

5. Travel.

6. Relationships and other stuff.

7. Abundance and happiness. The ultimate goal.

I am well aware that the things other people may wish to balance will be different but maybe there is some common ground. We are all individuals after all.

Maybe I am a fool to think this can be achieved.

That as may be, I intend to give it a go.

So this web site will be devoted to my quest to achieve life balance by progressing in all of these 7 areas.

At times it is stressful, but not the adrenalin fuelled stress on which I lived for so many years. It is more motivational and inspires you to solve problems. You need time to solve problems.

The slippery slope...

Many years ago I was chatting to a fellow seeker while working with a group exploring consciousness. He told me at the time that certain psychologists were concerned about the way life was changing for humans. Mainly, that many people were reacting to losing a job as if they had been attacked by a lion. It really is something to think about.

On that note I will conclude for now. Please feel free to get in touch as I am very intrigued to know how other people feel about life balance and what it means to them.

Thanks for reading and the best of wishes to you.

Paul