Finding Balance by Samantha Long Finding Balance by Samantha Long. A Man wearing bright colors stands on a spinning plate and is surrounded by colorful balls and plates. He balances a large pile of objects in his hands.

One of the main things we’re here to learn in this life is how to find balance. And yet, the lengthy list of everything we could do in life is overwhelming. There is more to do than we could ever do. As we each attempt to navigate this list for ourselves, sometimes we offer each other confusing counsel on what is most important. It can be hard to say no when I am asked to do yet another thing. It can be difficult to make time for others when the dishes and laundry and weeds and carpet and car need attending to. I even allow myself to feel pressure from others to spend my time in certain ways. I feel pressure to keep working even when I’m exhausted and need a break. I feel pressure to attend a ward activity even when I have no interest in playing another game of chair soccer. Lately I’ve been working on being more intentional with my activities. I attempt to prioritize what is most important each day and let other things fall to the wayside as they may. Some days this means I spend almost 15 hours out of the house. Other days this means I focus entirely on home improvement. Living a balanced life does not mean that every day will contain equal amounts of every important activity. It may mean that some days—or even whole periods of our lives—are heavily weighted toward one or two things, while other worthy activities sit on the sidelines. If we strive to answer the demands of each particular day and take time at regular intervals to reevaluate whether each activity is still needful and at which cadence, we will be guided towards those things that are needful at each season of our lives.

Ironically, while in the development stage of this painting, I had to rebalance my elements several times. At first my figure was too small. Then his stack of items was too tall. Next the plates have to be readjusted. Then I noticed that the orientation of the tulip in the border felt wrong. Finally, balancing the colors and values for the finished painting proved difficult. Finding balance is often a matter of trial and error. We may not always get it right, but as long as we keep trying, we’ll be okay.

Reproduced from the artists original artwork of Oil on Board 24 x 36. Painted 2024.