Five Balls of Life

From the book "Suzanne's Diary to Nicholas" by James Patterson

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work - Family - Health - Friends - Spirit, and you're keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.

Personally I love this analogy and I don't think it could be more true. Work in our lives often can seem like the most important thing. But it is not. Our most cherished parts of live are and should be our Family, our Health, our Friends, and our Spirit. These aspects of our lives need more attention than work. To me, work is just a means to an end. The other parts are necessary for truly living.

Also I do truly believe that to find balance in life you must first have a unconditional close relationship with God. I find that when I cling closer to God, the other parts of my life like, worry, work, stress, etc. become smaller. As God grows larger in your life those other interferences become smaller. And you also begin to appreciate Family, Health, Friends and Spirit more because you realize all of those are gifts from Him.