Life is not a straight line. There are curves, unexpected curves. One moment you are up, and the next you are down. It is a ride of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, ecstasy and despair. But throughout it all, you remain. An observer of the journey.

As I’ve aged. As I’ve grown, and learnt, and evolved, I’ve become more adept at restoring balance.

I have not rid myself of the ups and down, and I’m not sure that is the goal, but what I have done, is develop my ability to return to the baseline with greater ease.

As I learn to take myself less seriously I become less attached to the person who believes he is suffering so greatly. I am becoming less attached to my particular view of the situation, and magnetized towards the peace that lies within the awareness itself.

In my darker days, I may have remained distraught for weeks because of what can now be rectified in a day.

I still feel the depths of emotion, but knowing that they are transitory, and based largely on a story that I have created, I am able to let them go with greater ease.

The space that exists in the absence of great emotion is not bland or meaningless. It is still conscious of the emotion, but it is not attached to it as the ultimate truth. Rather it understands the emotion as a character in a play that your conscious aware Self is writing.

Coming into balance is allowing the stories to exist without power.

As I continually practice the surrendering of my ego, life becomes more joyous and fun.

I am learning to act from a place which works for the benefit of the whole rather than the individual, and it allows me to be less attached to my work. Doing so allows me to overcome crippling criticism because my work is not offered in order to grant me status and fame, the work is done as a sincere service to the greatest good for all. I am not attached to the fruits of my labours as long as they are offered as service to god.

Doing so allows me to work with ease.

When I approach life like this, I have compassion and forgiveness for myself. I understand that I am working in order to bring joy to the world and that my blunders and mishaps are acceptable if I am willing to pick myself up and continue.

When down on one’s self, it is very difficult to carry on. One must be able to pick themselves up before they can continue. So I get up, not even or only for me, but for the benefit of the whole. Working in this way makes it easier for me to contribute, especially when I doubt my worth or value. I simply offer what I can, and that is enough.

No matter how small an action, an action that is taken from a place of love will begin to make a difference. Every action will spread out into the world and continue like a stone’s throw rippling in a pond. Simple gestures of joy can reach far and wide, just the same as negative emotions too. But the world and its creatures are a unified system. The love we extend to one part spreads to the whole.

Like a flutist in an orchestra, playing with fervor and passion, inspires the whole woodwind section, which feeds the percussion, which feeds the strings. The actions of a single acorn may spur a mighty oak tree.

And so I learn of co-operation. The willingness to work together, for that is how we better the whole. We can not exclude a part, for it will be reflected throughout. We must learn to accept, and willingly work together.

I am learning to restore balance to myself, and if the theory is correct, the balance in the individual will inspire balance in the whole, even if it is one individual at a time.

Do not devalue the acts of love that you have to offer. To yourself, to one other. They matter and they make a difference.

At the end of the day, the willingness to show up and work towards the good is what matters most. Not the size of your donation, but the intent of your offering.

As I worry less about myself, and care more about the community, the development of a culture of peace and loving kindness, I become more willing to work. To let go of the fear of incompetency. I am primed to work in the way that I can, and that is what I have to offer.

I will continue to learn, and work towards the good, sharing what I trust will benefit the world and its people.