Arguably, some of the most beautiful music to ever be written is that of Johann Sebastian Bach. The form in which he often wrote is referred to as ‘counterpoint’, described as the relationship between two or more ‘tunes’ (within one piece) that are independent in form and time and interdependent in harmony (see Wikipedia for further info).

Possibly one of the greatest challenges we face in this age is to run our lives in a so called ‘balanced’ way. This simple and somewhat meaningless term nevertheless succeeds intuitively in embracing a host of complex health-related and stress management issues that are in detail uniquely individual but in general, follow common-sense precepts. The implication of ‘balance’ is the successful maintenance and on-going management of our health and well being. When we demand excessively of our natural resilience we eventually wind-up paying a price expressed in terms of our psychological, spiritual or physiological well being.

One way of looking at life that I have found helps some patients toward enhanced self-insight and ultimately an improvement in their well being, is the idea that we endeavour to seek a counterpoint to the greatest demands and stresses of daily living. For example, if you’re sedentary, under pressure and a bit isolated, find some daily time when you move or exercise, you’re relaxed and you’re with friends. If you work surrounded and dependent on others, constantly on the move and barely ever still, ensure you have some daily time that allows you to enjoy some solitary time, sees you at rest, quiet and relaxed.

In our daily life, through observing our dynamic daily existence, construct a counterpoint that balances noise with quiet, movement with stillness, excess with paucity, action with rest, the sedentary with the active, stress with tranquility. Through this counterpoint, we can nurture our well being, preserve our health and sanity, and recover our physiological resources.

As the musical perfection of JSB and his counterpoint illustrates, engaging the independent opposites provides for the healthy maintenance of our interdependent systems (psychological, spiritual, physiological) and the resultant harmony of health.