I’m participating in an amazing program- The College of Confidence and one of the recent topics was balance. There’s a great tool Trish has that you rate yourself on a set of questions laid out on a multi-spoke circle, then connect the dots and see how round your circle is. The goal or course is to have a round circle, but it’s also a great tool to see what is making things off kilter so you can focus on what needs improvement and celebrate what’s going well.

The exercise really got me thinking about balance. My winter job is in the ski industry and I’ve spent my life teaching others that we don’t ever just balance, it’s balancing. It’s a verb, not a noun. Stand on one foot and concentrate on the foot you’re standing on. Feel how much movement there is to stay balanced. How your toes are reacting, how the muscles in your legs are working. Even if on the outside, it seems your standing perfectly still, there’s always movement. There’s always give and take.

Life is like that. There is always something to react to and little changes to be made. In my journey to switch to safer, there’s give and take. I haven’t given my Little Seed Farm deodorant a try during the summer- I love it now, but I’m anticipating having to get used to the fact it’s not an antiperspirant and while I’m not usually sweaty, this could take some getting used to. However, the chemicals involved to make it an antiperspirant are not good for my overall health, so something gives. I’d rather be potentially sweaty (but smell nice!) than have my lymph nodes full of carcinogens.

Beautycounter believes that we can have it all. We can find the balance between safe and effective. We may have to adjust to the shampoo being less sudsy, but the ingredients required to create the useless suds we’re used to are not great. Balance our long standing conceptions of how products should smell or taste with our knowledge that there are safer options out there. It requires action to make it a verb. It requires research and choosing and pushing for more and better.

we believe every woman should be able to show her own beauty without compromising health or safety

Balance is not a set state- it’s a verb. It’s a series of actions. It’s give and take. We don’t believe you should have to sacrifice for the sake of beauty, so all you’re giving is the notion that the options in the drug store are the only options. That you should settle for what’s cheap and easy. That you don’t deserve better. Can you switch to safer all at once? No, not unless you really clean house. I’m balancing the convenience of disposable diapers by working to eliminate paper towels. I’m balancing my desire to reduce waste with my desire to switch to safer personal care and cosmetics by donating what’s unopened or in good shape and using up and recycling the last of what’s left. As I run out of traditional cleaning products, I’m replacing them with safer alternatives that I either DIY or get from my Norwex rep.

Don’t forget though, that to keep balancing, you need to constantly move in the right direction!

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