Three Inches

So here is my happy news for you, if I haven’t shared it already, the area in which your body is in balance is only about three inches. Isn’t that great?!?! Now, I’m sure you’re scratching your head and wondering what I’m on that makes me that excited about three inches. 😉 It’s because it’s a lovely little type. Three inches of physical space you have to hang onto in order to stay upright. Go on, go try it. Stand up straight. Lean a little bit to the left, to the right, to the front and to the back. Feel where you’re actually balanced. Lean too far and you start to lose your balance. Three inches. That’s it. Not the whole room. Not a foot’s worth of personal space. Just a measly little three inches.

So here’s why I get excited about those three inches: every time I remember them, I remember that I only have to hang onto three little inches of emotional space too. I don’t have to control the people around me. I don’t have to control the circumstances around me. I just have to hang onto my three inches. This is one of my favorite things I’ve learned from Tai Chi. During the terrible threes, I can’t tell you the number of times “three inches” was my mantra. And now, when there’s a lot of crazy going on in my life, I’m back to muttering it to myself throughout the day. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to know that I don’t need a lot of space to be myself.

So there you go! Everybody has to balance–whether you’re laying in bed, sitting in a chair, or standing. It means we all have a built-in reminder that emotional balance is not all about controlling everything in the world, but just hanging onto our three inches.