Find Your Harmony

Balancing Acts

Juggler, Plate-Spinner, high-wire walker, clown, the guy (or woman) they fire from a cannon. Where would you place yourself if you joined a circus? I like the idea of being fired from a cannon and soaring above the crowds before landing safely and doing it all again in the next show.

Why?

Well, I have been known to take mostly calculated risks and some not so well calculated. Yet, whatever happens, I always seek the learning opportunities even when it might be easier to say, “that ended badly, I won’t be doing that again”. I believe that how I do that is because I manage to stay calm within regardless of conditions on the outside.

Crashing Out

A year ago, I had a particularly bad mountain bike crash. Traveling at speed (+/- 40 KPH – 24 MPH) along a descending forest trail toward a sharp right turn onto a rough and steep downhill section, I was in the zone and planning the best entrance into the downhill. Thoughts of slowing down didn’t occur. This was familiar terrain.

Before reaching the turn, the cannon went off and I found myself still attached to the bike and flying at an odd angle. On landing, all I can tell you is that I crawled around on the ground for a few minutes after managing to detach my shoes from the pedals. They should have released but didn’t.

Two Things

I remember that no breath went in therefore none came out and, my head hurt, a lot. Although my helmet was firmly in place. Black spots drifted around my field of vision, from a lack of air or the bump to the head, I have no idea, probably a little of both. Then my lungs recovered, and a huge rush of air found its way in. That’s when the pain and the expletives really started. My usual inner-control went far into the west.

Ending This Account of Woe

I will add details I discovered later to keep the tale flowing. Three bruised ribs, colorful bruises and a mild concussion, dented helmet (exactly over the right temple). Had I not been wearing a helmet one of the four bones at this point can fracture inward and lacerate the middle meningeal artery. This can cause an epidural hematoma; a collection of blood that builds up around the brain and compresses it.

Good news! No damage to the bike and I’ve kept the damaged helmet to demonstrate to people why helmets are essential. It was three-weeks before I was able to ride again.

Escape Route

The site of this crash was remote and going down the steep hill was out of the question. Fortunately, there was a narrow lane 500-meters away and although winding, it offered a gentle 3-kilometers of downhill to reach home. I could barely walk so my only sensible option was to struggle back onto the bike and freewheel home. I had little choice, no houses and no phone signal to call for help.

Assessment

As soon as I was able, I repeated that ride precisely. I had to know if the crash was my error or bad luck. It turned out to be the latter. My front wheel had found a squirrel nut supply in a 20-centimeter hole, neatly covered with leaves and small branches. A minor adjustment to the left would have missed the hole. I marked the spot with an adjacent small pile of rocks and enjoyed the thrill of the following downhill. My inner-calm was alive and well although my body was taking a while to catch up.

Relating To What?

There are times in life and business when things seem topsy-turvy. As though everything is conspiring against us. There are simply too many balls to juggle and we become unsure of our footing. The best way to deal with this is not quit or give up but, evaluate. Find which areas need balance and work to restore equilibrium. Choose harmony over conflict because harmony feeds success. We can find inner stability and calm if we look for the balanced, focused and level path.

It would have been easy to fill the hole with rocks and bury the nut supply; instead, I chose harmony and calm within regardless of the conditions I had experienced.

Finding Harmony

A great many people devote much of their energy to striving for success. A great home, car, high-flying career, financial freedom . . . These are all things that can be described as “outer” and having them doesn’t guarantee harmony with self or environment. Looking for inner harmony, peace and joy from the inside is the only real way to enable the outer things to appear and truly enjoy their magic when they do. Everything you want starts with an inside job – work on self. If we can do that effectively by tuning our thoughts to harmony, joy and happiness through inner-calm we can experience our desires.

Focus on Having NOT Lacking

If you want to attract harmony, it’s difficult to attract harmony if you focus on not having it. Using imagination and our wealth of creativity, we can make-believe harmony already exists. Start from a position of having it because in doing that, you will begin to feel better about harmony or inner-calm. Whatever you need to attract, the better you feel about it, the more you will attract it into your life. Feeling harmonious and calm about your environment is the fastest way to bring more.

Life, Don’t Talk to Me about Life . . .

Marvin the paranoid android created by writer Douglas Adams said, “Life? Don’t talk to me about life” . . . “Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they tell me to take you up to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction? ‘Cos I don’t”. The Fictional Marvin lived a robotic life of lack and things never got any better. He never seemed able to tip the balance of his negative thinking.

Creators NOT Consumers

We are the creators of our lives and what we want to create will manifest. Despite the pain, I decided to create a safe way home after I crashed on my bike. I visualized what I needed to do and did it. This might well be an extreme example but by changing the way I looked at the situation, the outcome was arriving safely home. Albeit bruised and in pain. By understanding myself and what I am capable of, I achieved success by remaining calm within regardless of the conditions outside.

Such actions are not reserved for the few or special. We may need help but we can all achieve a harmonious life if that is what we desire.

Tools That Help

Relating to these there are plenty of tools that can help with your Personal Growth and Development. If you would like a free 20-minute coaching session on some of these, please leave your contact details in the comments and you will receive a prompt response.

Toolbox

There are many ways to effectively explore and advance your Personal Development in any area of life that matters to you. A box of tools to challenge the boundaries and move forward toward realizing success is extremely beneficial.

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Comments and Questions

Leave yours below. Your thoughts or questions may well ignite a positive spark in other readers thinking. You will always receive a prompt response to your questions and there is no such thing as a bad question; only the one that was never asked.

Namasté

I bow to the place in you that is love, light, and joy

Peace & Light

Steve Costello is a British Community & Youth Studies and Psychology honors graduate with over 30-years theoretical and practical experience in the Personal Development public and private sectors. He founded ExGro in 2018 with business partner, friend and clinical psychologist, Leo Faerberg.