“Virtue is the golden mane between two vices(flaws), the one of excess and the other of deficiency.”

-Philosopher, Aristotle.

Balance, like the great philosopher Aristotle has said, is finding the middle ground – the golden mane between two extremities. The idea sounds simple and yet unlike many of the simplest things in life, finding balance can be the hardest. Why? Because it asks us to act – to either do more or do less. It will ask us to leave our lives of excessiveness or deficiency and to find the middle ground between the two.

If you are that person who never puts themselves forward for anything, this could mean that you are living a life of deficiency. If we could imagine a world where we raise our hands for that promotion at work instead of being afraid to put ourselves forward, this would be to find balance. Or if we could pull ourselves away from finishing that second bottle of wine and binging on junk food seven days a week, to drinking moderately and eating healthier meals, this again would be to find balance — to cross over from a life of excessiveness to a life of self-control.

We constantly talk about finding balance in our lives, but we put in too little effort to actually achieve it. Are we, the shy ones, willing to speak up, to find our voices, to improve the deficiency in our self-esteem, self-confidence, and in the ways we view ourselves in the looking glass? Finding balance has always been a bit of a treasured friend to me. I’ve never been an astrological kind of person and yet I’ve always found comfort in the fact that my star sign is symbolised by a pair of scales. Am I who I am because of an unconscious affinity to a Libran scale?Do I have a need to align myself to the stars? After all, that’s what my name means, ‘star.’ Has this defined me, or am I defined by myself? The confident one, whose words, deeds and actions matches her values, thoughts and principles. I am from a family where logic and reason go hand in hand. I was never shy of standing out, sticking up for truth, fairness and integrity. Even when it meant missing out.

I strive so much to pray more, to get fit, be healthy and eat less junk food. I try to learn more every day, to feed myself spiritually, to be steadfast in faith and good deeds, while anchoring myself to ‘being good’. I want to be a good mother, a good friend, a good person and a good human. I am always striving to work harder, do better and to achieve more.

This might sound a little contradictory to Aristotle’s ‘golden mane’ but if we feel there is a deficiency in an area of our lives, this might mean that there is room for improvement – room for finding balance in the things that make us who we are.

Every day I seek balance and yet some days I wander off track. I’ve told myself that all my efforts are working toward a greater good, toward a day when I will find complete balance in every sense of its meaning. This too can be achieved by you, if you desire to find balance in your own life.

Thrive & Shine

Tara x