The purpose of taking is so that you may give. Like the roots of a tree seek to take the nutrients from the soil so that it may give it to the tree so that the tree can in turn provide shelter, oxygen, and nourishment to other creatures. So too must we be both taker and giver… but our taking must always be with the intent of giving. We must nourish ourselves so that we may nourish others.
If the tree were to stop taking for itself it would cease to live and it would fail to provide for so many that depend on it. So too with us. If we fail to take the nourishment for ourselves we fail to flourish and our ability to give to those who depend on us is strangled. While maybe not a physical death, we cease to have a meaningful existence when we refuse ourselves the dignity of satisfying our own needs. This is called balance.
In yoga, some of the poses that I find the most difficult require tremendous balance. Balance is delicate and takes practice to maintain. A bit too much taking onto one body part can result in the instability of the whole. A bit too much giving in another and again it all falls apart. Achieving the grace of balance takes time. In yoga, it requires us to learn our bodies. In life, it requires us to know ourselves.
Not only does achieving balance require us to know ourselves thoroughly, which is no easy task. Mastering balance also requires us to trust what we know enough to let go. It requires us to trade our fear for faith. Balance always comes with the risk that we might fall. It feels shaky and unstable at first. It takes practice and failure before we get it right. It requires us to go through the insecurity of awkwardness and face our fears of falling.
All of this is worth it. The process of learning to balance both on the mat and in life is so rewarding. For in it, there is fulfillment, wholeness, equanimity, and the very beauty of God. For God is a balanced being, balancing out the Earth with both good and evil, light and dark, fluid and solid, predator and prey, high and low, struggle and ease… I am convinced that finding our own personal balance is the way to wholeness, joy, and peace. We must have the courage to step onto the beam of life to reap this reward.