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Women Living Well - 2004
Student Papers
On Serendip
Balance is all about what is important to you. What do you like to do? What do you like to spend your time on? Those are the things that define balance to you. If you like it, you will figure out a way to incorporate it into your life (assuming that you are a healthy, rational adult).
Physical fitness is a part of being balanced. Even those that agree with me when I say that I hate exercise should be able to agree that a fit body goes along with being a balanced person. Without being fit, you cannot do or achieve all that you are capable of. You run the risk of health problems and stress related issues. Fitness helps your body itself be balanced. Your stress level is reduced and your risk of physical difficulties is diminished. With a healthy body, you can work more on having a healthy mind and heart.
More than being physically fit, balance is also about being mentally fit. It is about having time for both work and play, and being able to do both without completely sacrificing the other. Mental balance is about keeping a positive mental state, always looking at how to improve things rather than examining how they are bad.
Beyond keeping a positive mental state, balance is walking that fine line between good and bad stress. You want stress to keep you motivated and on track. You need it in order to function at your best. Without that stress to keep you out there, doing what you need to do, you would achieve nothing and would never be able to have balance. But, the opposite ¨C too much stress ¨C can be even worse than none at all. With too much bad stress, you also cannot get your work done; you are frozen into a stress-statue.
Balance, essentially, is about balance ¨C keeping the areas of your life that you need to survive and thrive constantly in your life. This means that while you live in a community, some part of your balance equation is devoted to the groups you are a part of, some of the equation is devoted to you. It is up to you to determine the amounts that go in each side.
Living at Bryn Mawr for the past four years has taught me one thing: Balance is a big, fat lie. No matter what you do, balance is not a completely achievable state. It is, instead, a goal, a destination. And, after four years, I regret to say I am no closer to achieving it then the day I started.
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