Equal Light, Equal Dark

My boys,

Today the light and the dark stand almost level.

For a moment, neither seems to have won.

Morning arrives.

Evening follows.

And between them sits something close to equal.

There is something beautiful about that.

But there is also something we misunderstand.

Because tomorrow...

It changes.

The darkness begins taking a little more.

A few minutes at first.

Barely enough to notice.

Then more.

Until one evening you look outside much earlier than you expect and realize the season has moved without asking your permission.

Balance was never where the year intended to stay.

It was a place the year passed through.

I have spent a lot of my life trying to reach balance as though it were a destination.

Work enough.

Rest enough.

Be ambitious.

Be present.

Build the business.

Raise the children.

Care for the body.

Strengthen the faith.

Maintain the friendships.

Make money.

Use time well.

Sleep.

Pray.

Learn.

Create.

Give.

Somewhere inside all of that, I imagined there must be a perfect arrangement.

A schedule.

A formula.

A point where everything receives exactly what it needs and nothing pulls harder than anything else.

I have never found it.

I don't think I am supposed to.

There are seasons when work requires more of me.

There are seasons when you boys do.

There are seasons when my body tells me to slow down.

There are seasons when faith needs to become quieter and deeper.

There are times for building.

Times for repairing.

Times for earning.

Times for spending.

Times for company.

Times for being alone.

Balance does not mean everything receives equal weight every day.

That would be arithmetic, not life.

Balance means knowing what season you are in without abandoning the things that make you whole.

The tree understands this better than I do.

It does not try to keep every leaf.

It does not produce fruit all year.

It does not apologize for winter.

It receives light when light is abundant.

It lets go when letting go is required.

It stands when there is nothing left to display.

Then it begins again.

Maybe that is why God built seasons into the world.

We need reminders that change is not necessarily evidence that something has gone wrong.

Sometimes change is the design.

Today is especially good at reminding us.

Equal light.

Equal dark.

For a moment.

Then onward.

That matters because there will be moments in your lives when everything feels balanced.

Your work is going well.

Your relationships are healthy.

Your body feels strong.

Your prayers feel close.

Money is enough.

Home is peaceful.

Enjoy those moments.

Do not ruin them by trying to freeze them.

They will move.

And there will be moments when life leans heavily in one direction.

Do not immediately assume you have failed.

Ask instead:

What does this season require?

What must I protect?

What can I release?

What needs more of me now?

What must not be forgotten while something else receives more?

Those are better questions than asking why life refuses to stay level.

Nothing living stays level forever.

Not the year.

Not the ocean.

Not the heart.

Not a family.

Not a man.

The work is not to hold everything perfectly still.

The work is to remain rooted while things move.

Yesterday there was more light.

Tomorrow there will be more dark.

Today they meet.

And I am learning not to ask the moment to remain.

I can stand inside it.

Thank God for it.

Notice it.

Then keep walking.

Because balance is not the place where movement stops.

Sometimes balance is simply the grace God gives you while crossing from one season into another.

I love you.

— Baba

Question:

Are you trying to hold your life perfectly level, or learning to recognize what the season you are entering actually requires?

Moral:

Balance is not a permanent arrangement we finally achieve. It is the ability to remain rooted as life's weight shifts from one season to another, giving each season what it requires without forgetting who we are.

This story reflects real experiences and philosophies behind Backyard Brew. It is shared to inspire perspective and intention.

Author: R. Solace