But she also needed to work for the money. She is a single mom so she has to work extra hard for the rent, groceries, bills and the boy’s needs. So she often moonlights in a second job to supplement. She worries that if she didn’t work two jobs, there would be nothing to cook for breakfast the next day or her landlord would throw her and her son out. Often she’s feeling so tired, she couldn’t even concentrate on her work anymore and, worse, she falls down to bed the moment she gets home that she hardly spends time talking and playing with her boy.

I really felt sorry for her. She was thinking so much about tomorrow, she was being left behind in the here and now. Her life was so disproportionately focused on money that she needed to learn some lessons on living a balanced life. I suggested she meditate and re-focus her sights towards the present, without necessarily forgetting the future, and try to give them equal emphasis. Of course, it is okay to be prepared for tomorrow, but it is not okay to forget today. After all, we don’t really even know if there is a tomorrow, if you know what I mean.

Lifestyle balance is essential for a healthier home. Obviously, my friend is right in wanting to spend time with her son, but it is equally right that she work hard for her son. The former provides for their emotional, spiritual, and psychological well-being, while the latter answers for their physical needs. All these have to be addressed and provided for to achieve better health and lifestyle.

It is only in living a balanced life that we can experience the present with all the happiness, joy, and pleasures it brings. And when we do, we open ourselves to even more possibilities of achieving happiness and success, and we open ourselves to people and the world.