Remember when you were a kid and it was fun to spin yourself around and around until you started to feel a little dizzy?
That off balance feeling left you walking with a wobble, your steps so askew that you sometimes fell down but it still made you laugh. Being dizzy as an adult proves not to be as much fun.
It reminds me of that old song from the late 60’s, Dizzy. “I’m so dizzy my head is spinning. Like a whirlpool, it never ends… you’re making me dizzy.”
I’ve experienced dizziness, having my equilibrium out of sync, a few times and it definitely lacked fun. Once everything spun around me with so much force, it felt like I was strapped into an amusement park ride called the Whirling Dervish and I couldn’t get off.
Another time the dizziness adversely affected my stomach, which started to churn faster than my new Sunbeam Mixmaster on high, and I turned a most unlovely and unhealthy-looking shade of green.
It’s incredibly hard to keep your balance when you’re feeling dizzy and your equilibrium is off-kilter. And balance is something we need in life.
We try to eat balanced meals. We balance our checkbooks. We wish our government would balance the budget.
We balance home life with work. We balance leisure time with busyness. We attempt to keep everything in balance.
Often, I even must balance my old washing machine, which sometimes spins itself into a sudden, jolting halt because the load of clothes has shifted off to one side.
Last week I struggled to keep life balanced. I worked many more hours than usual at my job. Early risings and longer car trips knocked my schedule out of whack. So many things needed my attention but my time was limited.
By evening, mind and body were exhausted but other commitments existed, and I was forced to keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny, except I was feeling anything but energized.
Laundry piled up, the dishwasher overflowed with dirty dishes, and my home chores all were relegated to the back burner. And I didn’t have any time to spend composing any blog posts.
All of that caused me to feel unbalanced and my dizzy world felt out of control. Some wise person once said, “The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you’ve lost it.”
As I was leaving my chiropractor’s office in the middle of my lop-sided feeling week, my doctor threw this word at me: homeostasis. An online dictionary defines it like this: “The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes.”
How did he know I felt like my life was spinning out of control so fast it was sending me into a tailspin? I hadn’t said a word about that and I wasn’t literally dizzy. I was startled, so I repeated, “Homeostasis?”
“Go home, look it up. Hey, you could write a blog about it!” he replied. (He reads my blog, views my photos, and mentioned that I hadn’t posted anything that week.)
Believe it or not, I already knew what the word meant; that’s why I was startled. Could he read my mind?
The more I thought about this condition, the idea for a blog started forming in my stressed out brain. But not enough time to write caused me to quickly jot the idea down in my ‘idea notebook’ to be revisited later. When things became balanced again.
My balancing act still didn’t stabilize. After some sleet/snow/rain combination hit our area last Friday, I found myself totally losing my balance – literally.
On my way to my car, I stepped off a sidewalk and slipped on the icy surface of a parking lot. My feet flew out from under me and I fell in a most unladylike fashion on my behind!
Let me just state that being unbalanced sometimes really hurts!
But being a bit stiff and sore caused me to slow down, take some time to rest, and hence, find a little bit of time to pull my thoughts together and write this post.
As usually happens when I set aside some time to ponder, my thoughts remind me of scripture. So on this day, as unbalanced as it may seem, I will write it on my heart that it is the best day of the year.
Because I know who balances my life. I know who keeps me upright and steady even when I feel wobbly and shaky. It’s the One who is written about in Isaiah 40:11-13.
“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”
The same God, who holds this spinning world balanced in His mighty and capable hands, holds me steady as well.
©2013 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
I’m so glad you’re okay! And good for you for going to see a doc, too. I know lots of peers who will not go! I also know lots who have vertigo etc. I had a dizzy incident at the gas station of all things, but it wasn’t too bad. Take care of yourself, M.E.N.!
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Thank you, Reeling! You take good care of yourself too. Those dizzy spells are kinda scary, I think. Actually, my fall came two days AFTER my visit to my chiropractor and was a result of an icy parking lot, not being dizzy. Just added to a crazy week. 😉
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That explains it! I do understand. My mother always says “There’s a logical explanation.”
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So sorry you fell. Those first two weeks in January…just couldn’t find my rhythm. But then I settled in to the new semester routine. I do hope you find yours soon. That photo is dizzying. How funny your doctor knows when you post and when you don’t. Now that is whole medicine. You are very lucky to be in his care.
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Glad to see I’m not alone in the unbalanced feeling. 😉 I’m shorthanded at work, so I’m carrying the load of my department which is why I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.
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I have felt out of balance all month- trying to find ways to remedy this- I’ve taken on more church ministries than I can comfortably keep up with – along with laundry, meals and the rest of it..thanks for the verses in Isaiah – they calm me down just reading them..
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Seems to be going around (ha-ha), Renee! Why is it that when we feel out of balance, we try to do more as if that’s the solution? I’m thinking “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is going to be my verse to get through the next few weeks of busyness. I’m glad you found peace and calmness in the Isaiah verses. 🙂
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God has held me steady the past several weeks, my mother passed last week and her funeral was yesterday. Thanks for your thoughts today.
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Oh, Patty, I am so sorry for your loss. When my mom passed, even though it was expected, I know the prayers of my friends helped hold me up. So please know I’m praying for you for strength, comfort, and peace. God bless you & your family.
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Thank you so much
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Ouch Mama. I’m feeling your pain.
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Thanks, my friend. I’m actually feeling better, but trying to figure out if I have time to even get to the chiropractor this week or next….not looking too likely.
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Wow! I’m sorry you fell, but I’m glad something slowed you down a bit. Wonderful post, and I’m hoping life will soon provide you with more time for YOU. I love that your doctor reads your blog!
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The fall wasn’t too bad, just unsettling and kind of embarrassing as well. Yes, I’m thinking I need more time for ‘me’ too. Silly me, thinking I’d have loads of free time after all of those weddings were over. 😉 I have a great chiropractor; I love it that he reads my blog too!
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