“Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” – Robert Fulghum

What a month! What a ride! And it’s still not over. The emotional roller coaster is still on the fast track and speeding along…

The key to this ride is to learn how to switch on and switch off the corresponding emotion at the right time and gently glide yourself to the next station where you are needed or need to be.

I’m right in the middle of this “Art of Balancing” school awaiting graduation so I can only tell you as much as I’ve learnt so far. It’s not an unfamiliar place as I’ve been here once before, long time ago. It’s a bit different this time though as some steps are the same and some are new.

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This month I have experienced the ultimate level of happiness and joy standing on cloud nine, ten, eleven and twelve at my dearest cousin’s wedding sharing the joy with many friends and family I had not seen in years. (Photo: Lost in my uncle’s speech which began with beautiful words for the bride and groom and ended with “Tandar is the best dancer in the world!”).

On the other end of this spectrum, I have been sitting in the darkest shadows trying to cope with the heartache and pain for two of the most incredible and dearest friends losing their battle to cancer. I can’t say much about this right now as I still have a glimpse of hope and awaiting a miracle.

In the meantime and in between, I’ve encountered and created many significant moments which have helped balance the “scale”:

– Laughing so hard on the phone I ended up with tighter abs than Gisele Bundchen’s!!

– Organizing a fun-filled trip and traveling with my family after a long time

– Consoling, supporting, and listening to friends in need

– Dancing my heart out to every beat of my favorite songs

-Signing up for another run, Relay for Life organized by the Cancer Society: MY PAGE

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– Painting after a very long time and going back for more (Photo: “Be All I Dream Of”)

– Flamenco dancing

– Receiving the news of yet another friend beating cancer…YAY!

– Some creative cooking (no recipes yet!)

– And of course, working: a main ingredient in the “balancing” dish.

I’ve learned so far it is not the amount of activities you pick up during such rides, but the awareness of your being in each moment, conscious of the ratio of the bad and the good, and fulfillment of your purpose at the time. They all solidify and balance the grounds you stand on.