The wheels of life never spin pointlessly. They are in tune with our conscious and unconscious learning, and they evolve as a result.
Those who lack a proper inner balance tend to experience these life lessons more often. Each time the wheels of life pass over people, they sculpt them by adding or cutting away some features.
Sometimes, we can disturb our balance unwittingly. We can either adapt to living with this imbalanced and lacking state or argue with the heavy side of the scale.
Being a person with strong water and air elements, I went on a trip to the plateaus of northern Turkey with some friends last year. It was a balancing experience, because I encountered the elements of fire and earth. Walking up and down the mountains, becoming stuck in mud, treading the narrow ridgeways, and feeling the adrenalin rush was not really my thing. I was the slowest, most inexperienced, most clumsy, and most cowardly in the group. However, I’ve always been the most talented, fastest, and bravest in my own back yard.
I’ve always been fine with the curiosity, knowledge, and intelligence of air and the empathy, intuition, and mercy of water, but these were not enough to balance me. The winds carried me everywhere they wanted, and as I poured out, I took the shape of the riverbed. I sometimes felt as still as a lake and other times as crazy as a waterfall. Sometimes I dived deep in the ocean and built my own kingdom there, deep and far from anyone else.
Nevertheless, what really mattered was being completely balanced. It wasn’t just me—the plateaus were also imbalanced. Heavy rain had turned the soil to mud, and the lack of Sun had frozen the plants. The ideal balance of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire would have created fertile and green lands like the forests of northern Turkey.
The perfect balance was, and still is, the ideal combination of the four elements. The wind should carry the clouds, the Sun should shine brightly, and the rain should fall just enough so the soil can awaken its hidden treasures. The Earth would be then greener and provide a prosperous and comfortable environment for living things.
Due to my excessive Water element, my perfect state was like a fast-running river before it reaches the sea. I was faster when I dealt with the things I liked, when I found the right riverbed and enough sunshine. I also had the wind I innately needed thanks to my excessive Air element.
During the tough trek from one plateau to another, reaching 10,000 feet at one point, and as the oxygen diffused into my brain again, I realized my lacking and excessive qualities. I once again remembered the wheels of life. As with all journeys to distant lands, I found myself on an inner journey when I asked, “What’s up, Sibel?”
During this inner journey, the sky displayed a Grand Trine in the Earth signs and another in the Water signs, symbolizing the balance between the material and spiritual worlds. It was obvious that my Water qualities should now learn how to materialize by integrating with the Earth and achieving prosperity. Instead of being swept away by every wind, I should water the land I had and give life to it.
During my hike, I got so tired and felt pain in my legs, so I do not know if I’ll ever go there again. All I know is that everything I need was given to me at birth. I should only use my resources in the most productive way and never waste them. If I ever need resources I do not have, life will offer them to me when I really need them. It gives me the help I need; it offers me a hand. The wheels of life always bring me the most suitable conditions.
After this journey, I’ll confess that I see my lacking and excessive qualities clearly. I accept and love them all, and I’ll always choose to be balanced. I should also send my regards to the other people I met on the northern plateaus of Turkey.
