Dr. Darnell A. Durrah

All right, I want to talk about balance. What is balance? Many times we beat ourselves up with the perception we must be in balance.  This is something over the last couple weeks, months, and even years, I have seriously spent time reflecting on. My own balance as a father, a son, brother, friend, and hopefully one day as a lifelong partner, is often questioned internally.

How do I find balance for myself? I ask myself do I even have enough time in a day to balance everything? Recently I read a book on productivity and time management. The takeaways for me was, what am I prioritizing? Are those things the ones that matter the most? Now, what if multiple things matter to me? For me, I am learning it is less about the amount of time I invest, as opposed to the type of time I invest. The old saying, it’s quality over quantity. 

As a result, I am of the opinion that balance is a false perception of reality and even time. Thus, I urge myself and others to start focusing on peace while engaging in activities your time permits. So, I am going to focus on quality time with my daughter and son as oppose to the length of time. Besides, sometimes these teenage kids have no words for this old man (according to them). So, I’ll enjoy the 5 minutes or the entire day spent with them!

This misnomer of finding balance is stressful. At least it has been for me. Trying to be a good parent, advancing in my professional career, being the adult child my parents need me to be, a loyal friend, cousin, and uncle can be exhausting. So, I will just focus on what brings me peace!

Now, instead of chasing a false narrative of balance lets even look at what the bible says about it. Especially for my bible scholars who might challenge this concept. I believe the verse says, “a false balance is an abomination.” I do agree with this. That a false balance is an abomination! False balance is a misperception that you actually have control of something. The only thing one has control over is themselves.

I encourage each and everyone of you that reads this blog, to focus on your own internal peace! Listening to your thoughts, feel your emotions, and respond with a behavior that brings you ultimate PEACE!

I wish you all peace and blessings. – Dr. D.