Have you ever noticed how much the Universe likes things to be balanced? Masculine and Feminine, yin and yang, growth and stability. I’ll let you think of any others. Let’s take growth and stability… all things grow, and increase which, on the surface of it, looks like it could mean the world would be overgrown and overtaken. However, the Universe always manages to bring things back to balance. For example forest fires to burn back trees and shrubbery, animals, birds, and fish which prey on other animals, birds, and fish (oh and insects too!). There is a natural order of stability and growth which, when left to itself, brings balance. It tends to be when humans get in on it that the balance is upset – like with global warming, the increasing death of bees, work and play.

Now there’s a thought – work and play... hands up if you manage to get a balance in your life here. The thing with this though, is that the balance within each of us can be slightly different from the next person. Indeed, what may look like work for some could in fact be enjoyable for others. Take those people who take time out to volunteer from their day jobs to help with the environment, or with third world countries, or local charities/community projects. I’m not passing judgement about this and neither am I saying that we should all give up our spare time to help others.

Let’s look at it another way. When a person has been ill there is a time of recuperation needed in order to heal properly. One wouldn’t expect someone with a broken leg immediately to go back to work the day after he or she leaves the hospital. For one thing the person would probably still have a plaster cast on and need to learn how to manoeuvre properly with crutches, and so on.

You see, here’s the thing. The Universe likes balance. It gives you signals when it thinks you need to be moving forward and other signals when it wants you to slow down and rest. A bit like traffic lights. The light goes from green to amber to alert you to the need to slow down, and then red to tell you to stop. There are only so many times when you can ignore those signals and shoot a red light without a) having an accident or b) getting a ticket! In the same way the lights go from red, to amber, to green to tell you to prepare to move forward.

The Universe does this too… it gives you signals to tell you when you need to slow down or get moving. If you ignore them, things can become quite difficult until you’re ultimately forced into doing what the Universe wants you to do. You can only give so much before your body, mind, and soul cries out for change and rest – one example of this is when people become ill and have to take time out. Conversely you can only stay where you are for so long before you’re forced into moving. I find this frequently with clients who come to me who’ve just been made redundant. Many hated their job and felt they probably should have moved years ago (although clearly that’s not always the case).

So to move on from these metaphors and analogies to ask the question of you: How balanced is your life? What signals is the Universe sending you? Do you need to slow down or get a move on? How much balance is there in your life? Where could you use a little more rest or a little more activity? Give yourself some space to think about these things and then choose to do something about it. Remember, you set the balance of your life and you also need to remember to respect and honour your own needs as well as the needs of others.