Living a balanced life is probably a myth. We can approximate balance but it is never steady state. So, perhaps we are better served by savoring the brief moments when balance is achieved, knowing imbalance will come again. We may treat ourselves and others more kindly if we think of balance as a process that we will have to continually engage because life is a series of breakdowns that require repair which leads to balance for a time but will shortly need to be redone.

Bio:  Kathy Baughman moved to Arizona in September of 2006 to take a full-time position as a staff chaplain at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where she has worked for the past 12 years.  She currently serves as the chaplain for the Mayo Cancer Center.   At age 50, she transitioned from a long career as a nurse therapist, for children, adolescents and their families, to one as a minister.   She graduated in 2005 from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities; completed a chaplain residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 2006; and was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 2008 in Topeka, Kansas.   She received Board Certification by the Association of Professional Chaplains in 2013. Since 1985, she has been involved with UU congregations in Michigan, Kansas, Minnesota and Arizona. Kathy is a member and Affiliate Minister at the UU Congregation of Phoenix.