Parkinson’s symptoms: balance; keeping our lives balanced

Recently, friends have asked me about my initial symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. Since I don’t exhibit a noticeable tremor or display uncontrolled movements that they might associate with the condition, they are curious as to what I am experiencing. I explain to them that one of my first symptoms was a general feeling of un-balance. I felt as though I would lose control of my body and fall—I just couldn’t regain balance when I was walking or moving. There were certainly other symptoms, but I’ve been reflecting on balance recently and how it affects us physically to be sure, but also mentally, emotionally, and musically.

As people with Parkinson’s (PWP), our daily lives are an exercise in balance. Depending upon our situation, we may still need to balance work commitments with medical appointments and therapies. We have obligations to family and friends that we want to keep, and sometimes those activities seem to get out of balance in our lives. My recent week was filled with back-to-school meetings and activities, as well as several social dinners and evening functions. I have written about the anxiety that I feel when I anticipate a busy week, knowing or believing that I won’t have the physical or mental energy to see it through. I continue to learn that so much of living with Parkinson’s Disease is simply showing up whether I feel like it or not. There are surprise blessings in every situation that we will miss if we talk ourselves out of an activity.

Even though I want to say “yes” to everything because I don’t want to give in to Parkinson’s, I still need to practice balance. Just as I feel like I might fall physically due to the condition, I can also feel overloaded or top-heavy emotionally when I don’t have enough space in my week. I need to practice self-care so that I can function at the level that I expect of myself. For me, self-care involves naps or resting periods throughout the day. Sometimes I think I nap more during a day than I work! However, I accept these naps and indeed, cherish them, because they ensure that I am able to function at a level that best represents me.

I was visiting with a friend recently whose life was out-of-balance and she was visibly upset because of it. She had retired from a long career years ago and was thrilled to fill her new-found time with a passion of hers. As the years progressed, she became increasingly busy with these passion activities to the point of not having time left to fully take care of her health needs. As her health challenges demanded more time and attention, the passion activities that she used to love, became a source of strife. Her lack of balance affected both her health and her desire to engage in the activities she so dearly loved.

Being a performing pianist and teacher, I have spent much time working with musical balance. A rather fundamental idea in music is that the melody and harmony must be balanced. Beginning piano students must develop the technical ability to make the melody soar while minimizing the harmonic underpinning of the accompaniment. Balance does not mean that melody and harmony are equal. The melody is considered “more important” if you will, and must be heard more prominently than the harmony. Perhaps it is the same in our lives, as well. Our melody, whatever it may be, must shine brighter and be heard more clearly, than our harmonies. Our harmonies must support and accompany our primary purpose or melody.
When we remember a song, we often focus on the melody that caught our attention and stuck in our minds. That melody is supported by everything surrounding it. All of the other musical elements (harmony, rhythm, form, texture, instrumentation) work to enhance the melody. Perhaps we should focus on our primary melody when we are balancing our lives. Focus on your melody, and let everything else support your life’s work. Then we are taking an important step towards balance in our lives.

693 words
Day 14: August 13, 2023
Success!