Rhythm and balance. Been thinking about them a lot lately and what they mean in the context of my life.
Best I can explain them and their nuanced difference –
Balance: Finding the optimal amounts/ratios that keep life in equilibrium.
Rhythm: Finding a flow that can expand and contract with the shifting seasons/priorities/situations that life presents.
An example of this is how I try to prioritize service/volunteering in my life. Balance would probably say that ongoing service is necessary to keep equilibrium, and I just need to find the optimal amount (once a week? Every other week?). Rhythm would invite me to ask what my capacity is in this season, and if/where service fits in? Maybe I take a quarter or half year hiatus from serving. It can still be considered a priority in my overall life, which is why I’m confident I will come back to it in the future.
I’m leaning a lot more into rhythm these days. Perhaps it is just semantics, but rhythm feels lower stakes to me. Balance can feel like I’m solving a chemistry equation that has 1 right answer. Rhythm tends to feel like an extended response question where there’s many right answers.
I think they’re both solid concepts, and helpful in their own right. (They’re neither good nor bad.)
So here’s to balanced rhythms and rhythmic balances!!