Balance

Increasing stability & improving farm/life balance

Meditation on Balance and Life by Tammy Counts, EdD KBFA

Close your eyes.

Breathe deeply.

Let the rhythm of your breath mirror the rhythm of the earth.

Balance: Imagine the soil beneath your feet, steady and grounding. Just as the seasons balance growth and rest, so too does life ask us to honor both action and stillness.
Women: Think of the women who carry wisdom across generations—mothers, sisters, daughters, friends. Their strength is not only in endurance but in the quiet nurturing of dreams, the unseen labor that sustains families and communities.
Aging: Feel the gentle passage of time. Aging is not decline but ripening—like fruit on the vine, like wheat ready for harvest. Each wrinkle is a story, each gray hair a thread in the tapestry of experience.
Life: Life is the field we cultivate. Some days bring storms, others sunshine. We plant seeds of kindness, patience, and resilience, knowing that what we sow will one day nourish us.
Farming: Farming teaches us humility. We cannot rush the rain, nor command the sun. We learn to trust cycles, to accept uncertainty, and to celebrate abundance when it comes.
Love: Love is the water that sustains the roots. It is both tender and fierce, a force that binds us to one another and to the land.
Family: Family is the harvest. It is the circle around the table, the laughter in the barn, the stories told at dusk. It is where balance, wisdom, and love find their home.

As you release that breath, imagine yourself as part of this great cycle that is:

Rooted in the earth.
Growing with time.
Nourished by love.
Surrounded by family.

Carry this balance with you, like a farmer carrying seeds—knowing that each moment is a chance to plant something that will grow into tomorrow’s harvest.

Ellen Petrick's Rose, Thorn, Bud, and Peach

Lisa Kivirist's slide deck on balance as a journey

Chat Highlights on on Life/Farm Balance

What defines a GOOD DAY for you? What are some key elements?

Time outside in nature.
Quality time with friends and family; quiet time for me & appreciation of all my blessings.
Three things: 1) did something to make my future life better; 2) did something to make somebody else's life better; 3) did something I enjoyed right in the moment
A good cup of coffee, walk the dogs and get my chores done pain free.
Stopping to eat lunch (not eating standing up or while muti-tasking), stopping work in time to make dinner and spend time with kids/family.
A little social time, meditation, movement and clearing away a little paperwork.
Coffee, creativity, connection with family/friends/place, movement, accomplishment, good food.

What is WORKING for you right now in your daily routines & good day?

Slow mornings, time to cook a nutrient dense meal, unrushed movement, fulfilling work time, learning something new.
Morning journaling (not the same as writing a to-do list) but empties brain so the day doesn't start with stress/overwhelm.
Keep moving, practicing bone safe exercises and movement - focusing on having courage to keep working on healing from hip fractures and lumbar fusion.
I have an app on my phone -- Forest -- that gives me little picture of a plant if I don't use my phone for a pomodoro (25 minute work block). And a picture of a DEAD PLANT appears if I do use my phone. This is hilariously effective on me.
I am always ‘off track.’ But those moments are the most creative. It is sometimes both a tool and a roadblock!
I learned a long time ago I have to know what I'm eating all week and have a plan. Every meal.
I've been working on my bedroom. I love the night so I have my sound machine, projector that throws the night sky on my ceiling and my Himalayan Salt Essential Oil burner. It's hard for my brain to shut down so I'm trying this to help me relax and get some consistent sleep.
If it's worth doing it's worth doing half assed! That's my motto!
I am beginning to refuse to work after 5:15 p.m.
I reach out to a group of moms weekly to find one morning each week after school drop off that works for a walk. It's a social opportunity and helps me meet my movement goals, sometimes there is a group, sometimes just one other mom. If nobody is free I go solo and we look out to the following week.
One of our farm mottos is “80 percent is good enough!”

What is NOT WORKING for you right now in your daily routines & good day?

Social media was not working - deleted everything off my phone. If I want to see Instagram I have to use my desktop, which is too cumbersome for me to ever do. When I deleted the apps initially I read 3 books in a week! Reclaimed time!

Other thoughtful gems from the chats:

Making friends, real friends, as an adult is so much harder than it seems like it should be.
Chronic conditions take a toll, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually. . .
I love sharing stories of life-long learning. I try to try something new in my garden every year
I use distraction to get through the chronic pain

In partnership with:

This work is supported by the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, project award no. 2024-70027-42470 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.