I recently turned 79. Yes, it’s hard for me to believe, but it’s gradually sinking in. For example, I’ve noticed I’m definitely slowing down. As a result, I don’t always get my blog done every week. So, if you don’t get my blog some weeks, you’ll know I’ve slowed down again.

And that brings me to the larger issue of living life in balance. It’s a matter that confronts many of us at different times in our lives. For instance, we may spend too much time on the Internet at the expense of time with our friends and loved ones. Or we work too much and don’t leave enough time for relaxing and enjoying life.

It’s easy to do. We get caught up in one aspect of our lives causing us to ignore another interest or pay less attention to a valued relationship. Sometimes we don’t even realize what we’ve done. Once we do gain awareness, it may take us additional time to get back up to speed with a particular pursuit or to revive a neglected relationship.

Of course, there are many ways we may feel our lives are out of balance. Eating too much, sleeping too little, not getting enough exercise, watching too much TV, not reading enough, or not enough intimacy, to name just a few.

Personally, I feel the need for more time and space for my writing. In addition to my blog, the memoir I’ve been working on for over three years now requires more of my time if I’m ever going to finish it. I also want more time to deepen my relationship with my loving partner. To achieve these goals and get my life in greater balance, I have to figure out what to let go of or at least give less attention to. And that may not be so easy to do. But I’m working on it.

What about you? What do you want to re-balance in your life?

For my male readers, here’s something to help them in this re-balancing effort. A few friends and I are organizing a summer retreat with the theme, Living a Life in Balance. A New Mexican Men’s Wellness gathering, the retreat, with apologies to my female readers, is just for men. It will be held at Story Ranch in Mineral Hill, New Mexico, on the weekend of July 12 to 14. During the event, men will have the opportunity to explore where their lives are in and/or out of balance. It will be a time to step back and take a look at what is and what is not working for them.

In small groups, we will examine how we might get more of what we want in our lives to create greater balance and ease, while reducing or eliminating what we feel burdened by in our lives. You may have a good balance of fun, play, interpersonal connections, joy, quiet time, or whatever. On the other hand, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by too much work, a lack of connection, not enough time with your mate or family, busyness, alone time, or something else.

If you are a man thinking this is an issue worth exploring in your life, we hope you will join us next month. And please encourage other men you know to join us as well. We feel it will be a valuable experience for all. For details and registration, go to https://bit.ly/3yGKaEn.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.