Sunday, November 21, 2010

Flowers for Sunday

A few details of the Columbia Road Flower Market...

A visual infusion to make up for my slowed posting.





Saturday, November 13, 2010

Balance, A Pressure Point

I've been circling an idea in my weekly schedule and my daily life for quite some time now, and the over-arching monologue of Grey's Anatomy's most recent episode crystallized the idea very well...

"The human body is a highly pressurized system. The blood pressure measures the force of blood pulsating through the arteries. It's important to keep this pressure regulated. Low or inadequate pressure can cause weakness or failure. It's when the pressure gets too high, that problems really occur. If the pressure continues to increase, a closer examination is called for, because it's the best indicator that something is going terribly wrong...

Every pressurized system needs a release valve. There has to be a way to reduce the stress, the tension, before it becomes too much to bear. There has to be a way to find release, because if the pressure doesn't find a way out, it'll make one. It will explode. It's the pressure we put on ourselves that's the hardest to bear, the pressure to be better than we are, the pressure to be better than we think we can be. It never ever lets up, it just builds and builds and builds..."

Grey's was back in full swing, interweaving great music with poignant moments, and of course the deep and powerful monologue, serving as a perfect metaphor to the actions of the episode's story.

With relation to balance, since I've gotten to London, I've been telling myself that I want to find a balance to my life. I had this vision that it would be a constant routine, a steady schedule.

However, as the weeks unfold, I realize that from one to the next, the schedule is always changing. Lectures happen on different days, assignments and work split up my time. Activities and commitments are always in flux. This pressure to find balance, to find a steady regime, can never really be satisfied.

I'm starting to see that balance is more a state of mind, a constant striving for balance. Balance is found in the constant dedication to finding balance. Wrap your head around that one.

It's about staying mindful, keeping your passions and priorities close at hand and continuing to cycle on, continuing to move forward.