I woke up this morning with “balance” on the brain. You can’t have as many things going on as I do without either becoming a master of balance or spectacularly burning out. Over the last year or so, I’ve done a lot of personal work on balance. Between my corporate job, Kat Eye Studio, my family and my art I have to keep my eye on things. Or, I should say, I have to keep my knees bent and roll with things.
You see, I believe balance is a dynamic thing. Balance in life is like standing on top of a teeter-totter, one foot on either side of the fulcrum. If you want to stay balanced, you have to move and adjust. Constantly. You have to stay agile, moving your body as the plank shifts. You have to ride out any imbalance that comes along to gently bring things back to where you want them. If you try to push to hard the opposite way when things are going one direction, you will most likely find yourself tipping wildly back and forth, arms flailing, ultimately ending up face down on the dirt.
Right now I’m riding a wave of imbalance. This week is an intense week for me at my corporate job. I have a deadline on Thursday for the project I’ve been leading for the last 15 months. Things are going great and the project is on track, but there is a lot of work the team and I are wrapping up before the formal review Thursday morning. It’s taken over my brain. Normally I can switch off work when I’m home, shifting over to my creative projects, but occasionally something big like this comes along. My lesson from the teeter-totter: Time to roll with it.
So I’m making some adjustments to keep my balance this week. I won’t be blogging or online much the next couple of days. Just like in a photograph, when an element is placed on the extreme edge or corner, you need to leave space to balance it out. I’m making that space here.
Dynamic balance makes for interesting compositions and for a full and interesting life. But you have to learn to make adjustments and shifts, to make things work. I’ve eaten enough dirt, falling from the teeter-totter, to learn that by now.
A few things to make you aware of…
I’ll be back here on Friday with the January Photo-Heart Connection. Won’t that be a nice way to relax and reconnect to my heart after this busy week! Link up will be open February 1 – 7 for all of you to join in too.
The Liberate Your Art postcard swap is now open for 2013! I’ve moved it earlier in the year this year, to keep it out of the busy summer months. (It will just be in the busy spring months, instead! Hee, hee.) Join us!
Registration is open for the Las Vegas workshop at Selah, which adds you to the Kat Eye Studio weekend of activities. Visit here to see why I’m really excited to teach A Sense of Place this year.
Kat – I caught my breath when I saw this image and it immediately became my overwhelming favorite of your tree series. The use of negative space, with its subtle and delicate color shifts; the stark black tree form, shorn of everything; the abstract color blocks taking the place of leaves; the dramatic placement of the subject. I don’t even have words for how striking I find this image and how emotionally evocative. Wow and wow!
Best of luck on your project at work. Your wise words, as always, are thoughtful and instructive.
Oh, thank you so much Brenda!!
Having balance in life my is a huge struggle for me. Thats why I chose it for my One Little Word this year. You are right, balance is a dynamic thing, requiring a constant flexibility. Hopefully I’ll be at least a bit better at it by the end of this year.
You definitely will be better at it by the end of the year. It’s amazing how focus on something in our lives, like balance, can help us sort things out.
So glad to hear that you are adjusting and making space for your big project this week — I am always amazed at how much you manage to do! I love the analogy of standing on the teeter-tooter — illustrates your point so well, as does your beautiful tree image. Hope your project pieces all come together smoothly — have a great week!
A dynamic photo Kat. Good luck with your project.
Great Photo, Kat. I sense an uneasy mystery to it, probably because you are/have been on a roller coaster time-wise this week. I am amazed at what you do, have going on in your life; a full-time job, the studio, and family. You are truly amazing.
Vi