Balance

This morning as I was showering in the dark (outside) and doing (or attempting to do) tree pose and eagle pose, I thought a lot about balance (which I didn't seem to have!).  I'd noted in a post a few days ago that when I attempted these poses in my shower in the dark, poses which I've been doing easily in the shower in daylight, I ran into real difficulties but that I didn't know if those were because it was harder to spot or because it was just a non-balancing kind of a day.  Well, after three days of this I can confirm that I have a new challenge, balancing when I can't see the fence post clearly.  I have no trouble with these poses even with dimmed light inside, so it has to be the darkness.  This would also explain why the elderly especially have more balance issues, falls, at night.  So I think this is definitely something I want to be able to do.

But the issues of physical balance also got me thinking about balance in general.  And I realize that if I can stay present in the moment, if I can focus on mindfulness, that it is much easier to maintain my balance when life throws the inevitable curve balls.  I am new to the concept of being present and I have  a lot to learn, but that is what meditation and yoga are helping me with.  The present is all any of us have, after all.  The past, for better or worse, is cut in stone and can't be changed.  The future is yet to be written and I have no guarantees about it at any level.  But I have this present moment and if I can learn to practice mindfulness and staying fully present in the moment, I will have a lot!  Staying focused on the moment will help my emotional and spiritual balance just as focusing on my fence post helps my physical balance.