Board Games and Balance
We often hear people talk about being a “well balanced” person. And of course, when we do, we know they aren’t talking about how skilled a person is at performing a hire wire act in the circus. Being a well balanced person is all about finding balance in your life – with your time, your activities, and your relationships.
Who knows if this is really THE secret of life, but we know it’s a big part of it. Afterall, we know it’s hard to find that happiness in life when we feel unbalanced. If we’ve been spending too much time at the office, then we can feel it when we miss out on our childrens’ events. If we spend a lot of time staring aimlessly at a TV screen, it’s going to take its toll.
Use Board Games to Find Balance
So how can we use board games and card games to find balance then? We think it comes back to our priorities. If one of our top priorities in life is our family, then we can use board games to bring us closer together. Board games can give us time together as a family to reconnect. They can give us a relaxed setting to talk about life’s important lessons – like how to treat each other, play fairly and honestly, control our emotions, and much more.
Board games are also a great way to spend time away from the TV, computer, and all our electronic devices. For example, we make it a house rule to put all the mobile devices to the side while we’re playing games. We often tell the kids, “wherever you are, be there” – being there both in body and mind sharing the experience with those with who you’re around.
Board Games Can Throw Off Your Balance
If board games are a great way to bring balance to your life and that of your family, is it also possible for games to throw you off balance as well? Absolutely.
We can attest to this fact. The tricky thing about balance is that it can easily be thrown off by almost anything we do.
Is reading books a good thing? Yes.
Is playing a sport a good thing? Yes.
Is playing a musical instrument a good thing? Certainly.
Life is full of many great things that help us enjoy life and be the best we can be. But the secret is about balancing all the good things we can do.
So it’s time for us to admit that our balance is out of whack on board games. You may have noticed that it’s been a couple weeks since we’ve posted a board game video review. What you might not have known is that it’s also been a couple weeks since we’ve even PLAYED a board game.
But that doesn’t mean that we’re not getting any family time. It’s just that recently our scale has been tipping in other directions – from school plays, to scout camps, volunteer work, and such. And that’s ok. In fact, it’s a good thing.
Our priority is our family. If our children are involved in performances, scouting, and sports, we’re going to be there with them. And as they grow, there’ll be a lot more directions we get pulled. So we know we’ll be playing the tricky balancing game all life long.
And we’re hear to cheer you on in your endeavors to balance your activities with your children as you teach by example how to be well balanced individuals.
P.S. We’re snapping out of our drought by hosting a neighbor game night tonight – should be lots of fun!
