Tightrope walkers stroll along a high wire with the ease that most of us walk down the street. They do so with the aid of a balance bar—the long pole they carry that stabilizes and steadies their progress.

To stay steady and balanced on the tightrope of life, we need our own kind of balance bar, one made up of strong commitments to clear priorities, and of thought patterns that focus both our plans and our sensitivity on the things that really matter. If you change your thoughts, you’ll be able to change your reality.

You are the only one who can change your thoughts. Your balance bar, in other words, will have to be of your own making. Simply put, balance is a formula for joy. When we are balanced, there is more satisfaction and pleasure in work and in the process of accomplishing things in the outside world. And balance, most importantly, brings with it the deeper joys that spring from what happens inside our homes and inside ourselves.

Life balance means balancing the outer success of work and career with the inner success of family and personal growth. Balance, like most worthwhile things, is something we never fully perfect or completely attain. Rather, it is something we can always be obtaining. The tightrope walker is never balanced in the sense of being still or stationary. He is always balancing, and gradually becoming better and more comfortable in his balance. In reality, balancing is a skill that can become an art. An art we can master only when it is our conscious goal.

Joyce Rizzo of Healthy Home Products can be reached at 321-637-1924 or visit www.ecoquest.com/rizzoair.