Maintaining Equilibrium

I can't watch high wire acts. I know those acrobats are highly skilled and well practiced. Nevertheless, the risk remains that one slight change in the equilibrium maintained on a thin cable hundreds of feet in the air will cause the acrobat to fall quickly to what awaits him on the ground. It is hard to imagine having a calm spirit, facing the thin cable, setting aside the knowledge of risk, sensitive to every muscle movement, acutely aware of the placement of hands and feet needed to maintain balance. How wonderful it would be to have that same calm spirit translated into living a balanced life for those of us that face falling with both feet firmly on the ground. Real or imagined risks threaten to unbalance us every moment. Sometimes the harder we try to stay upright the faster we lean to frightening degrees. In yoga, one of the tricks to maintaining balance is to fix your eyes on an immovable object, like a spot on the wall or the ground. Concentrating on that helps you take your mind off the imbalance inherent in our untrained bodies, and, with time, a trained yogi can balance with eyes closed. So choose one immovable object that will not change, and fix your gaze on that. I choose Jesus. Cross the cable, stay upright.