Learning to live off balance

Life seems to always keep me just off balance.

there is always another side to every argument
there are always loose ends in life and in faith
circumstances are continually changing
I as a person am changing
any point of view is only ever a partial one
Jesus is not too interested in my comfort zone.
the big questions of life force us to embrace paradox
the truth often isn't in the middle but at both ends
the bible has awkward yet compelling verses
God is full of surprises
And so on and so on....

I feel the power of different compelling truths, I am knocked off balance again by someone I meet, a conversation I have, something that happens to me, or more often than not something I read. It keeps me from the kind of self confidence that can so easily morph into hubris, from being too set in my ways and from presuming to know more than I really do. Also to be open to the unexpected, to follow the truth wherever it leads and of course find signs of God in the most unusual places and people.

And then just this morning my daughter's fiance Julian, a philosopher/artist who practices skateboard tricks in his spare time sent me, a great quote: Balance is most beautiful just before the tipping point.

We are going to have a big chat about that someday about everything from skateboarding to jazz, love and faith! We value something, a place or a person the greatest and see their beauty most clearly often when we are about to "lose" them through change of whatever kind. It's when we take things for granted that we forget their worth and beauty. A healthy marriage is one that continually refreshes itself, a healthy church or society is able to embrace the changes that happen, whether of their choosing or not.

And then 2020 arrived and our whole world has been knocked off balance, again and again. Just when we think we are getting back to a place of balance we hit another tipping point. We can feel bewildered, punch drunk even a little. Yet in those brief moments of semi normality, when the water stills we see clearly the preciousness of life, our family and friends, a functioning society. Our lives have been honed down closer to their essence and we catch a glimpse of a saner, more beautifully balanced life. We dream of dancing with the tipping points when they come, lighter of weight and nimbler of foot, unencumbered by the desire for safety and certainty, trusting the God who will not let us go, our Divine dance partner.

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