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| The Three-legged Stool of a Life in Balance: Physical, Emotional & Spiritual |
We're spiritually starving in this culture - not underfed but undernourished."
- Carol Hornig
It occurs to me that striving to "get it right" in life really amounts to achieving some sort of balance. Balance between your physical body, your emotional well being and your spiritual life makes the most sense to me. And like the "three legged stool, it is very hard (in my opinion) to be on stable footing without all three legs in place and in proper working order. What that looks like for each individual probably is a little different but the reasoning seems sound. There are many symbols associated with the number three, it seems to be agreed among the sources I have consulted that it is the number of "completeness". Hence my use of the "Three Legged Stool" analogy, though that is certainly not an original idea with me!
I am striving to achieve balance in these three areas of life. Many of my daily posts will no doubt address one of these three areas of my life as I delve deeper into my journey toward completeness.
Below are some other thoughts associated with the three legged stool that I thought you might find interesting.......................
The Three-Legged Stool By Darren and Donna McNees:
One of the reasons why life is so challenging is because of the fact that we are either growing or shrinking. There really is no middle ground.
One cannot exercise three days a week, eat healthy and properly manage stress for a year and then not do those things for the next ten years and expect to still be in a state of optimal health. The same is true regarding the mental and spiritual side of us.
You are either growing or you are shrinking. You are either expanding your mind, nourishing your body and nurturing your spirit, or you aren’t.
That's what makes life so challenging. You have to actively pursue growth in all three areas. You have to live your life on purpose and for a purpose. Too many people just exist and then wonder why their life has no meaning or hasn't turned out like they had planned.
As a reader of these moments, you want more than that. You want to grow and experience a rich and fulfilling life. And that experience is obtained by expanding your mind, nourishing your body and nurturing your spirit.
It is also important to have a proper balance in all three areas. The following is an excerpt taken from the beginning of chapter 15 of The 21 Day Marriage Makeover, which describes this balance:
In order to become the best person that you can be and achieve the best relationship possible, you must have a proper balance in all three areas. A good example of this would be that of a three-legged stool.
If one of the legs is missing, sitting on the stool will be a balancing act. This balancing act is very challenging and it takes a lot of effort. It would be very easy for someone to push you over. Any little outside force can knock you down. After a while you will get tired and fall.
This describes someone like Kim. She is an energetic career woman who eats well, exercises and manages her stress. She thinks positive thoughts, is continually learning, and she has control over her emotions. Unfortunately, her spiritual life is nonexistent. When hard times come she can handle them for a while, but in time this stress becomes overwhelming.
If one of the legs is broken or weak, you may sit on the stool and not notice that anything is wrong. Every time you sit down the stool is getting weaker. You have no idea that it could break at any time. The stool might last for several more years or it might fall apart tomorrow. What do you think would happen if your spouse came and sat on your lap while you were sitting on the stool? That’s right, it would break under the additional pressure.
The second example describes Eugene, who is in tune with his inner self and is growing spiritually. He is expanding his mind and is very balanced emotionally. But he is not taking care of his body. He feels tired all of the time and doesn’t have the energy to run and play with his kids.
He gets sick at least once per year, which knocks him out for a week. He doesn’t know it, but his body is slowly deteriorating. This deterioration is affecting every other area of his life, including his marriage. His spouse wants to go out and have some fun every once in a while, but he is too tired and just wants to stay at home and take it easy. Instead of exercising, he watches several hours of television.
His poor eating habits and lack of exercise are causing him to gain a lot of weight. Because of this he thinks less of himself, and his spouse doesn’t like it very much either. The whole situation is causing arguments and fights between them. Then one day he breaks, he has a heart attack. Fortunately he is one of the lucky ones. He doesn’t die and is given a second chance at life.
If all three legs are strong, the stool is solid and it can take a lot of pressure before it breaks. If you know that the stool is strong and solid, you will sit on it with full confidence, knowing that it will support you. Outside forces cannot easily knock you down. The pressure from carrying extra weight will not cause it to break.
The third example describes Jake. Jake is a soft-spoken pillar of strength. He takes excellent care of himself and reads every day. He controls his emotions instead of letting his emotions control him. When negative things happen in his life he has a peace about them. He knows that God is in control of his life and that everything will work out in his favor.
Our lives are like a three-legged stool. Our three legs, mind-body-spirit, must all be strong to handle the outside forces and pressures that life throws our way.
Along with balance, consistency is also a very important part of your personal growth experience.
Excerpt from the Spiritual Writing Examiner Blog authored by Bryan Waters:
[If I were to asked to talk to young people today,] I would pull out a three-legged stool like Dr. Elton Trueblood did many years ago. Not because I've ever milked a cow, but because it takes three legs to make a milking stool stable. (A one- or two-legged stool is an impossibility). And I would say to the college kids sitting in front of me that the spiritual life requires three foundations to be lived in a balanced way.
The first is the interior life. There are literally dozens of disciplines available to us. Prayer, meditation and spiritual reading seem to be the most popular. What we dwell on is what we become. But we cannot stand on that one leg alone, because our faith would be turned in upon itself and become stagnant or self-centered.
The second support for a balanced spiritual life is service. Jesus, when he came to his home church, read and interpreted the scripture which proclaimed, "I have set the oppressed free and given sight to the blind." The interior life is balanced in service to others.
Then, there is the third support. Dr. Trueblood called it intellectual integrity. The Presbyterians, are fond of saying, "You don't have to check in your brain when you come through our doors." Dynamic faith is more than rational, but it is not less than rational. Peter affirms that we are to give a "reason" for the hope that is in us. None other than Jesus commanded that we are to love God with all our mind.
About each leg, I would say so much more. About the interior life, for example, I would say it is intended to bring us and keep us close to God, not make us better than anybody else. About service, I would say the payoff for serving is the opportunity to serve again. About intellectual integrity, I would say don't ever be afraid to place your mind in God's hands even when people think you're crazy to do so.
A three-legged stool gets the job done. Anything less finds us sprawled in the dirt. From which we can get back up and place ourselves firmly--onto a three-legged stool.A well-balanced life is like a three-legged stool.
Excerpt from dondoyle.blogspot.com/GOING SANE:
LIFE'S THREE LEGGED STOOL
You need WORK that you believe in;
SOMETHING to look forward to;
And SOMEONE to share with at a deep emotional level.
If you have all three legs going in your life, you are in good balance and well-integrated. With two legs you can make it, though you have to sit on the stool cautiously. If you sit on the stool with great concentration and determination,you can even survive with one leg. But if all three legs are missing or greatly impaired? Your bottom is on the ground!
People who seek therapy often need help in one of these three areas.
If your life isn't working to suit you, take a look at your three-legged stool.
Do you believe in your WORK?
What are you LOOKING FORWARD TO?
Do you have SOMEONE to share with at a deep level?
