For a fit senior citizen (specially the more ‘senior’), it’s vital to not lose balance and fall – repercussions can be long term and difficult to recover from. With the advancing years, a combination of physical, sensory & medical changes affect how the body maintains its stability and we tend to at times, slip, stumble, sway performing even normal activities. Doctors & health specialists advise certain exercises to improve the physical equilibrium while a host of advisories are there for the ‘Mind’ too. It’s all about having right balance..
Yet, looking back wasn’t it a ‘perfect’ balance that parents & elders always wanted from us. Be good in whatever you do, maintaining the right balance between studies, sports & extra-curricular. The ones most applauded weren’t the ‘geeks’ but all-rounders excelling both in class, debates and field events. Talent aside it was their innate ability to juggle timings and pack in so much in a day’s work. ‘Boys being boys’ some would act wayward and rebellious against the strict school regimen that was part of the desired behavior !
Moving on in life the question of ‘balance’ again came in the family’s choice of the right match in our early 20s itself. The search was spread for an educated girl well versed in household work while we meekly expressed hope for ‘balance’ between the modern and traditional & everybody was finally happy as the parents on both sides gave approval for the match. Post marriage ‘balance’ of power between us decidedly shifted after a decade.
Interestingly, working in a Bank, we came also across the concept of ‘balancing’ of books which meant double entry accounting system demanded entries must tally at the end of the day. Till late 1980s, banking was manual and we had to ensure that all the ledgers & books were balanced failing which it could lead to frauds & misappropriation of funds and audit observations. As a lesson for life, we learnt that remaining ‘unbalanced’ for a long time, could lead to bigger problems & disasters and timely ‘balancing’ was a must ! Prolonged ‘Work-Life’ imbalances often lead to financial, health and relationship issues.
Another ‘balance’ that our parents gently insisted upon & our profession also taught us- was the importance of having a ‘Bank Balance’ early on – from ‘saving for a rainy day’, to prudent investments to financial futuristic planning for different stages of life must be balanced against the high cost of living, inflation and aspirational goals of the gen next. In today’s millennial, this bank ‘balance’ seems to have swerved towards ‘spending’ and instant gratification by debt at high cost rather than working on ‘saving’ every penny ! Added now are checks & balances needed against digital frauds and rising cyber crimes. It is really tough ‘Balancing’ times…
