design Travel

Balance

Balancing

Now I’m older, I realize more and more often that life is all about balance. You can’t be happy and feel good when something is out of balance. But that’s also the challenge. To find that balance, accept that the balance might differ from what you expected. To admit that it might not go the way you hoped, but you still have that solid base. It’s hard to find balance in private life, work, health and love in the same time. It’s healthy that one of these aspects isn’t completely stable or the way you want it to be. When you don’t accept that, you’ll never find the balance you’re looking for. We need a solid base to grow, to dream and to love. If that solid base isn’t steady and stable, we don’t control our emotions and feelings.

Life in balance

For me it’s hard to eat healthy (I eat out a lot, I’m a food snob and I love everything with carbs) during my travels, to keep in touch with family and friends (of course, the internet makes the world much much smaller, but still, time for a good quality call is rare with all busy schedules) and the Dutch saying ‘rust, reinheid en regelmaat’ (peace, purity, regularity) doesn’t describe my lifestyle at all. Although my life doesn’t contain the ingredients of a balanced life, I never felt this balanced before. I am the one and only person responsible for my own happiness, income and the incredible things I do. I share them with amazing people, who are fully aware of what they do and want in life. They are happy, satisfied with where they are now. Of course, everybody would like to have that extra ingredient (most wanted: love), that makes life ‘perfect’. Except I don’t think that’s what is missing in my life now. I’m in balance. My work/private life is not so balanced, my trips are time consuming, but they make me so aware of the things I do, like and dream of. My life is hectic in a good way. I don’t know stress (only an extra ‘alert mode’, blast from the past I can’t get rid of) and I’m healthy. I know what it means when your body lets you down, as I was sick last year. After finding myself a new place in Amsterdam, when everything should be in perfect balance, my health decided that it was time to digest some emotions of the year before. Ugh… that was a hard time with no balance. Like I was walking on a rope, high above the ground, balancing, struggling to keep my balance. Luckily there were plenty of people to catch me if I’d fall. But here I am. Standing straight. In balance. Solid.

Balanced house

I have my own place in Amsterdam, I’m renting an appartment. But it never felt like the home I was used to. After one year, it doesn’t feel like home. It’s not because of the interior, the area, etc. It’s an insignificant feeling. So the house hunt continues, and house hunting in Amsterdam is hard! So if you hear something you think would suit me, let me know! In the mean time, I’m spending my time on AirBnB, looking for hosts in Berlin and New York. How I love to have a look in others homes! Amazing how some people have their house decorated!
Today I also found this place. It’s in Indonesia, and when I saw it, it inspired me to write about the balance feeling. This house is balance. The architecture, the materials that were used, the divisions, the light… it’s perfect. What is balance for you? Can you find it in your house?

Perfect balanced house

House Indonesia

For more pictures, have a look here.

Sabine de Witte