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Tuesday: Living A Balanced Life

Fiḍál (Grace), 17 Jamál (Beauty) 176 B.E. - Tuesday, May 14, 2019

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30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS  (13+) WDC's Longest Running Blog Competition - Hiatus #1786069 by Fivesixer

PROMPT:Discuss the “Four Burners Theory” as it is outlined in this website:

https://jamesclear.com/four-burners-theory

Which burner in your life burns the brightest? If you had to completely turn off one of your burners to be successful in the other three, which would you turn off?

I'm sure my life is out of balance, because if it was balanced I wouldn't have so much difficulty with finances. If my life was balanced, I could do more work around the house than just wash dishes. If my life were balanced I would have more of a social life than simply online. If my life were balanced I would be able to attend the nineteen-day feast, Holy Day celebrations, and give too more than one of the Baha'i Funds. If my life were balanced I wouldn't have to worry about over-drafting my checking account, and I would have more than $ 7.00 in my savings account.

What is causing this imbalance in my life? Does this imbalance have anything to do with the "The Four Burner Theory?" The first burner concerning my family is turned down so that that it appears to be off. I have very little contact, with the exception of Facebook, with any of my siblings or their offspring. The second burner concerning my friends has a little more heat to it, but it is still turned low. The burner connected to my health is not hot, and sometimes--when I'm depressed--appears to be turning itself off. The burner connected to my work is the only one that appears to cook anything most of the time, and, even that one, doesn't work well w hen I'm depressed.

How do I get my life back into balance? What do I want? I want a home that is the center of my social life or, at least, social activity. I don't have that. I want a home like the one 'Abdu'l-Baha talks about in the following scripture verse.

My Home

My home is the home of peace.

My home is the home of joy and delight,

My home is the home of laughter and exaltation.

Whosoever enters through the portals of this home,
         must go out with gladsome heart.

This is the home of light:
         whosoever enters here must become illumined.

This is the home of knowledge:
         the one who enters must receive knowledge.

This is the home of love:
         those who come in must learn the lessons of love;
         thus may they know how to love each other.

'Abdu'l-Baha1

I want to life a balanced life, and I'm not living a balanced life. I want to have a home that I can invite my friends into. I want a new recliner because the old one became infested with bedbugs when we moved into this apartment and I had to get rid of it. I want to stop telling myself "I screwed up again.", I know I haven't screwed up, but that's how I feel when things don't go right or I do something I think someone will get angry with me for. Th is happens when I start to descend into a depression, and I suspect I'm on the verge of becoming depressed. I want to live a balanced life!

Footnotes
1  Family Life, Page 307.