I often need to remind myself that balance is a process, not an end result. We can practice all of the exercise, meditation, and healthy eating in the world and it will not make much of a difference if we allow our outside stresses to tip the scales. Sometimes we just need to slow down.

That is what happened to me, in the month of January. In hindsight, which is definitely twenty-twenty, all of the signs were there that I needed to slow down. No matter what I tried to accomplish, I felt like I was slogging through mud. Trying to achieve a sense of balance, I exercised more, meditated more and found and tested these wonderful new products. (More about that later.) Finally, I did something so uncharacteristic that it got my attention.

I lost my cool with a total stranger, what amounted to ,for me, basically a meltdown. Now, my circle of friends would describe me as a pretty even tempered person. I rarely lose my cool and never with strangers. Like most of us, I would tend to save that kind of behavior for those nearest and dearest to me.

In sharing my experience with a friend, after she finished laughing, she said, "But you don't..., You would never..., That is just not you." Right. Did I mention the word "meltdown"?

I was reminded, once again, that working to achieve balance does not lead to perfection. We are all only human. However, listening to those little inner signals that tell us we are out of balance can make the journey much more pleasant for us and those around us. I am sure my friend, the stranger, would agree.