How can I balance work and life?

Work diligently while caring for your body, rest, and personal life. Ask not only how much you can earn now but whether you can sustain this way of living. Once the body is exhausted or time with family has been missed, money may not make up for it.

I once worked year-round without even a Monday off. Later, with students working alongside me, I could not demand that everyone push as hard as I did, so fixed rest days gradually developed. Miao Yuan shared that a previous job paid well but involved very long hours. Illness became increasingly frequent, from monthly to every week or two. After several episodes, it became clear this use of the body could not continue, leading to setting aside some time and money for rest and short trips.

The spiritual center also has very busy periods. YOYO, Dao Xuan, and Miao Qing discussed feeling happy to contribute despite detailed tasks and frequent late nights, experiencing willing acceptance of work joyfully undertaken. Yet the same conversation included fatigue and days off. Wanting to read or watch shows after work made sleep feel like giving up personal time, leading to later bedtimes. While practicing tools with one another, they also received the reminder that resting is not a sin. Using a day off to catch up on sleep could bring real satisfaction.

Finding balance between work and spiritual practice can also take time. YOYO regularly attended classes while studying in Taichung, but after moving to Taipei for work became busy with projects, overtime, overseas travel, and clubs, reducing group practice. Looking back, she felt there was spiritual work to catch up on gradually, but did not regret that path because work and clubs also brought gains. For her, restoring balance meant continuing to work while returning practice to daily life.

She also described a low period, waking daily to ask what such a painful environment and relationships were meant to teach, and even crying while riding home. Leaving that environment for somewhere with more breathing space came first. Only later, looking back, did the pain lessen. For her, balance did not come through instant understanding, but gradually through experience and adjustment.

Working at home is not necessarily more restful. Miao Qing discussed alternating a week at home and a week in the office. Office work had defined hours, while home demanded more self-discipline. Yet even a regular personal routine did not mean colleagues and suppliers kept the same hours: messages could still arrive after midnight. Such busyness also concerns coordination at work and cannot be reduced to one person's discipline.

Besides arranging work, leave a point in the day to stop. Working by day and sleeping at night allows rest and renewed energy for tomorrow. People are not machines that can operate without stopping. We need movement and stillness. Notice recent poor sleep or increased emotional pressure too. Seek help with difficulties rather than continually postponing necessary rest and care.

Dao Xing and I also discussed how earning money does not automatically take care of every other part of a person. Dao Xing recalled working very hard and later paying more attention to the body. I considered that how much money is earned and whether there is time for the life we want are both questions worth asking. Choices differ. More work cannot be treated as direct proof of a better life.