This is my second post connected to a poem entitled Bounty.  The first can be found here.

I have found many aspects of living are on a spectrum.  For example, the feelings of anxiety and apathy lie at opposite ends of a spectrum.  Despair and elation form the end points of another.  The spectrum idea can be extended to living itself.  Existing like a hermit, shut off from the world and sharing nothing of oneself is at one extreme with the other end being something like living as a Kardashian.  Constantly experiencing emotion at one end of the spectrum or attempting to live at one of the extremes is just not feasible, and are Kardashians even real?

I have also come to realize an unfeasible aspect of these spectra is attempting to create an existence where one is perpetually at the center of every spectrum.  For a while, I tried to achieve a perfect, never wavering center.  All that came from it was fear and uneasiness when I began slipping from that unsustainable sweet spot.

Experiencing periods out of center is okay.  The interval of unbalance gives perspective and appreciation for the center.  How can one know joy having never experienced sadness?  I believe the goal is not to always remain centered.  The goal should be to acknowledge when shifts from center occur and to remember centeredness can be regained.

The spectra idea has become a useful tool to visualize my state of mind, determine how far out of balance is that state of mind and to begin finding a peaceful place once again.  For instance, when emotions become supercharged I can identify that a shift toward anxiety has occurred. The solution is not to make a leap to the other end of the spectrum into apathy by numbing what I am feeling.  The solution begins with acknowledging the anxiety and, from that point, to then look across the spectrum and see center where calm exists.  The pace back to center is not a sprint containing a quick fix.  Just as acknowledging the state of anxiety itself, each step back toward center is acknowledged as a positive gain.

Sometimes the journey back to center can occur on my own.  At other times a shift is further toward an extreme endpoint and I need the help of my connections to achieve balance.  These are the connections that exist both in the physical world and in the spiritual world.

One day, while feeling knocked from center in just about every spectrum of my being, I began to think of all the blessings and wonderful people in my life.  What I envisioned that day returned me to a blissful center and this poem arrived.