Balance is not an act
One of my favorite childhood stories is “the steadfast tin soldier”. In the story, the soldier, who is a tin toy who is balanced on only one leg (because he was the last one cast and they ran out of tin for his other leg), falls in love with a paper ballerina who appears to also only have one leg because she is posed in an arabesque.
After many adventures, the tin soldier is thrown out of the home, has a series of adventures only to return to the home of his love, the ballerina. His love is unfailing, and his heart true, and he eventually melts in a fire along with the ballerina, and the two meld together to form the shape of a heart.
In a different story, told in the form of a song, “one tin soldier” is about the opposite…instead of having praise for the tin soldier, this story/song has bitterness and anger directed at the tin soldier and implies he is a false soldier, or a fake.
It occurred to me that both stories are about a tin soldier but they are vastly different; one I love and the other not so much. But what differentiates them, is the intent of the soldier in each story. When propelled by love, the steadfast tin soldier, like Christ, endures much abuse and is very humble, while in the story of one tin soldier, the soldier is part of an army that hopes to profit from a treasure. But we learn in the end, it is the love that endures, beyond any human trials or tribulations.
In both cases, Love for our fellow man and peace is the “treasure” and in the steadfast tin soldier, he realizes that he already has the treasure within, but in the one tin soldier story, he believes it is something he has to take from the rich who have the treasure. Which soldier would you want to fight for you if you were needing a warrior?
Motivation is everything is it not?
Many times when we think we have nothing, the truth is we have everything we need already. I realized this when I was washing dishes feeling sorry for myself because I was not feeling 100 percent. But I looked on my windowsill, and saw the ballerina dancing there, she reminded me of the steadfast tin soldier. Her gracefulness and her understanding of the ever-present love directed at her, even when she was alone, gave her beauty and an ethereal quality.
Even in difficult times, we are sustained in knowing, like the ballerina and the tin soldier, that we are indeed loved and our very existence is evidence of that. God created us each individually with many gifts and talents unique to each of us. The love we get from our creator can help us endure and be steadfast through any difficulties when human kindness or love might appear to be absent. And like the steadfast tin soldier or the ballerina, when people see us, they will not see limitations, but will see the love in our heart and will feel lifted and secure…and endure.
Love is what keeps things in balance, and it is not an act.