Equipoise.

I learnt, or rather was reminded of, a cool word today. Equipoise. I came across it with regards to medical research, but I feel it applies to many other areas of life.

There are a few days where you wake up, and everything is in balance. The job is going well, and you’ve woken up with a stellar idea, that is actually workable. The phone rings and you have a lovely wake up message from the love interest. You look out the window and voila, the weather is exactly how you want it: warm enough for that new dress that’s a little high above the knee, or cold enough for your killer boots and leggings combo that you know works for you. A day of balance. Equipoise.

Then the panic sets in: what is it that you will do that will ruin that moment? Or more appropriately, what must you avoid doing in order to maintain this feeling?

I woke up in one of those moods today. Of course it’s only 11 am, and in my panic and wish to maintain the status quo, I have destroyed it. The scales are tipping, and what’s worst, is I am unsure in what precise direction. It’s the curse of doing a little too much: over-egging every message and phone call; putting on just a little bit more mascara, lipstick and heaven forbid, foundation (plastic fantastic anyone?!); that additional scarf that makes you look as though you ran through your wardrobe and emerged wearing everything you own (yes, you nodding, I know you understand what I mean. Go on, take it off, you didn’t need two vests anyway).

I know its human nature to feel as though we ought to be applying ourselves in some profound way. I am quickly discovering, however, that this might actually be the mother of all cock ups (a position previously held by assumptions). Don’t get me wrong, there are times when action is needed, for example, breathing, or going for a wee (and work like related stuff). But perhaps we should confine our efforts to basic instinctual tasks, because being a try-hard really does nothing for us (well, for me anyway).

So here’s my new year’s resolution, only 11 days’ late: I will try and do more of nothing, less of everything. Let’s see how well this ‘less is more philosophy’ works for my equipoise (I know there is a form of grammatical error in that last bit, just struggling to work out what it is, and guess what, I’m going to do nothing about it!).