“There is an Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.”
Rumer Godden, A House with Four Rooms
This four rooms quote is one that resonates strongly with me. There’s a lot of attention paid to achieving the so-called work life balance. This line of thinking falls far short of the bigger picture. The quote speaks to accomplishing a more comprehensive balance that has far greater impact on our lives. I believe that the ability to achieve balance in each of these four areas: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual are the keys to living a meaningful, productive, and fulfilling life.
Physical balance is not limited to our bodies. Physical balance includes our environment; the space we occupy on a regular basis. Creating an environment of peace, order, and calm in the spaces we occupy and control, are just as important as taking care of our physical bodies. The role our environment plays on our well-being is not something that should be overlooked. Examine how you feel in the spaces you occupy. Arrange your space so that you feel calm, confident, productive, and at peace.
Mentally it’s less about what we think, and more about how we think. Others are constantly trying to influence our thinking and if allowed, we’d be blown in whatever direction the winds of outside influences want to take us. Taking charge of how we form our views and make decisions big and small cannot be stressed enough. Becoming conscious of our thinking process and determining for ourselves what has meaning and value is one of the best things we can do to create balance.
