Maintaining Balance

This morning I went out and cleaned off a bit of the fence. A couple of years ago, a wild grapevine took root and I thought it would be nice to let it grow. I obviously don’t know anything about grapevines. I’ve been cutting it back because it grows up against the fence and can’t be dug up easily. I’ve neglected it this year and it has really grown, taking over the fence in thick vines, trailing down both sides.

I pulled and pulled, feeling like I was fighting an octopus or something. The entire time I’m pulling, ripping its tendrils away from the fence, I can feel the life force of the vine and I know the reason I haven’t done this before now. I feel like I’m destroying a living thing, and I am. I know it sounds stupid, but it bothers me.

Sometimes certain actions are necessary to maintain balance. They may feel uncomfortable, and even cause pain, but they are still necessary. There are times we have to get rid of things that we are attached to in someway to do this. Sometimes the memory or the love lingers on after we’ve done this. But after the balance is maintained, we feel better.