I was standing in the chocolate aisle at the natural foods store in Wichita early on a Friday afternoon, poised to meet the challenge of choosing snacks for my weekend retreat, when my cell phone rang. It was Billie Blair, director of the Tallgrass Retreat Center, asking if I'd seen the weather report.

It was raining hard, the weather service had issued flood warnings and the rivers and streams surrounding Matfield Green were rapidly rising. One participant had already called to say that she wasn't going to risk the drive that afternoon, so we didn't deliberate much before deciding to cancel the retreat in the name of safety.

Regretfully, I diverted my gaze from the dazzling array of organic, fair-trade chocolate and drove 60 miles through the pouring rain back to my little office on the prairie. I wrote a short email to the would-be-Balance-retreaters, confirmed that the event could be rescheduled, and then -- responsibilities taken care of -- my heart did a little leap of delight as I realized that nature had just offered me a weekend at home with my family with no plans and no commitments.

So, when life offers you unexpected free time, take it!

As I stepped outside, the afternoon sky seemed to give me a knowing wink, like a kindly grandmother who'd taken care of my chores so that I could throw down my backpack and run right out to play. The day was beginning to clear, but I brushed off the thought that we had cancelled the retreat prematurely. "What's done is done," I said to myself, and redirected my mind to appreciating this gift of time to play with the baby, go for a walk, cook that beautiful butternut squash that has been languishing on our kitchen counter, and do a little bit of reflection of my own. In that moment, I experienced a revitalizing breath of what could almost be called balance. In the last few years I've discovered that there is no such thing as a balanced life. Fulfillment and joy are the result of risk and experimentation. If you want to live a good life you must continually allow yourself to be thrown off balance -- by the complexity of your work, by your commitment to love your children well, by romantic love, or by your willingness to try to resolve a community conflict that may just prove intractable.

The most you can hope for as you tip from one point of balance to another, are moments of centered presence.

Presence means you are prepared to be and do your best, whatever the situation demands. Presence means having the inner resources to keep from getting whipped into an anxious frenzy when faced with the choice between what is urgent and what is important. Presence empowers you to step back from overwhelm, re-inhabit your body, and reconnect with the calm at the center of your self. Presence means being awake and aware of your life as you live it.

Cultivate your own centered presence.

Presence is the result of rest, reflection, and breath. The body that is sleep-deprived cannot experience presence. The self that does not know who she is, what she cares about, or whom she loves cannot experience presence. The mind that is deprived of the healthy flow of oxygen cannot be present with itself.

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