balance
Many years ago, in a big meadow in Central Oregon, I went for a horseback ride. I was fourteen and glad to be out of my parents’ house. I didn’t have anywhere to go, but I wanted to go fast. The evening was cool; the horse was fresh. She thought going fast was a great idea.
As my horse picked up speed and found her rhythm, my body drew in, concentrating toward the horse’s center of gravity. I could feel her lungs moving rhythmically as her hooves beat a faster tempo. Then, to my astonishment, two barn swallows flanked us. In a tag team kind of relay, they took turns diving beneath the belly of the galloping horse. And so the four of us rocketed through the evening until we ran out of meadow. As the world flew by, as the swallows dove and hooves thundered and my heart pounded, we moved together in a bubble of stillness, an organized engagement of symmetry and rhythm.
The experience was exhilarating, but also enlightening. We three species played together spontaneously, with shared goals and understanding. And shared responsibility. We needed one another for our game. The horse expanded my physical range and power far beyond my own species’ potential. My planning mind gave structure and rhythm to the power. And those clever swallows recognized what was going on and added their own embroidery.
We three species shared two things – the desire to play and a recognition and appreciation for rhythm and symmetry. We were all willing (eager!) to take some risk to create harmony. Why?
Symmetry and rhythm (which is symmetry through time) are aspects of balance and balance is fundamental to how we animals negotiate this heavy world.
This winter session, our philosophy discussions will explore the idea of balance. What does physical balance require? What, exactly, are we studying when we practice balancing? When we learn to balance in a difficult asana, how does that experience inform other positions?
We use balance metaphorically as well. We know what we mean when we speak about a balanced meal, for example, but what constitutes a balanced life?
Please join us Wednesday evening January 20 from 6-8 pm.
We’ll talk about balance and reflect on its presence in our lives.