“Brooming”

My mama used to say that only witches could fold fitted sheets. I can do it. The simplest way to handle fitted sheets is to wash, dry and put them back on the bed and avoid folding all together. The other method takes a little magic and a lot of balance and patience. The secret is to never let go, either you or the sheet will win and it might as well be you, so hold on tight. Continually holding the odd-shaped object permits an equal folding of those rounded parts without with ending up wearing the sheet. The same can be said of riding a broom.

We have entered the fall season, my favorite of the year – the time for “brooming.” Last week celebrated the autumnal equinox, one of the two days of the year that day and night is equal in time – the light and dark are balanced; the earth is in equilibrium. On either the spring or autumnal equinox, one can balance a broom, making it stand straight up without any means of support, somewhat appearing to defy gravity. Probably a broom can stand on it own any other day of the year with a little finesse, but balancing brooms is particularly special on equinoxes. When flying on a broom, it is essential to be in equilibrium and balanced at all times.

The same can be said of life. In life we must learn to balance the lightness and darkness in ourselves, although it can be a difficult task to balance our own nature. Jedi Luke Skywalker learned about dealing with the dark side present in him by conquering his fears. Yoda taught him that, “In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.” The quest for that balance in life, equilibrium of our light and dark sides, gives a meaning and purpose to all that we do as we soar through life. It challenges us to develop our innermost soul to be a better light to those we meet daily as we conquer our fears.

Witches are often depicted as flying through the night on a broomstick, a feat that can be described as aerodynamically impossible. Because of a person’s center of gravity, sitting astride a broom and maintaining balance is not physically feasible. But we all know that this happens on Halloween, so there must be some explanation, physical or metaphysical or spooky. In Tai Chi, we are taught to find our center of gravity, the Dantian. The Chinese exercise form, like broom riding, requires that we focus our energy to improve our balance when we target the physical components to stay upright. We can work on our flexibility with a range of slow motions, strengthening muscles and reflexes in a wide range of movements maintaining our balance. As we do these exercises, we balance our bodies as well as our minds. Broom travel is mind over matter and finding balance in life should work the same way.

Businessman, Paul Boese, succinctly summed of life saying, “We come into this world head-first and go out feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance.” The forces that work against our balance can be neutralized with patience and perseverance and we compensate for our fears by working harder to achieve peace of mind, our equilibrium. As Elfaba once said, “If you care to find me, look to the western sky…because everyone deserves a chance to fly.” No one should spend their time folding sheets.