Peacefully Balanced

As I have been thinking about 2011 and all of the dreams that I am dreaming for this year I became incredibly inspired by something I read on Lisa Leonard's blog (she was inspired here on Ali Edwards). The idea is to choose a word each year to focus on, thus inspiring you and pushing you towards living whatever that word is. 


So, I was inspired to choose such a word. I began to pray about it and two words kept coming to mind: PEACE and BALANCE. After praying some more I decided that I would choose "peacefully balanced" for 2011. I love it. When I say those words I immediately feel more at peace, more relaxed... as if the stresses and pressures I put on myself are all of a sudden given permission to leave my body. 


On their own, these two words just felt incomplete. Lacking something. But, when I put them together they felt magical and exactly what I need to have in my heart every day. PEACEFULLY BALANCED doesn't mean dividing my life into equal parts. It means prioritizing what really matters and dividing my time accordingly- that is true balance. Time spent not equally, but appropriately. And that is very personal and will not be the same for any two people. The "peacefully" part comes into play when I realized that when I do make those priority choices on where my time is spent I need to be at peace with it. Be at peace and just let it go.


It is being at peace with the piles of laundry that are just waiting to be put away while I am reading books and playing with Jackson. 


It is missing a run on the treadmill for going to bed at a semi-decent time because my body needs the rest.


It is not being on the fast-track for promotion by being 'always connected' to work because my family comes first. 


It is not harassing Dan to please put away his things because it's really just not that big of a deal.


Peacefully Balanced in all parts of my life. That is the resolution.


Simply communicated, complicated to do. But I am going to pray about it and focus on it and look at these words every day and let it all sink in. Sink in so deeply that eventually I will fill up with peace and balance and I will exude peaceful balance in every way. 


Do you have a word... what is it? Thank you, Lisa, for the inspiration!