"Somewhere between self-abuse and gluttony." That is what I said in response to my daughter when she asked how much whipped cream to put on her pumpkin pie. Yes, somewhere in the middle there is a good place to hang out no matter what the subject matter. Balance is a tricky thing. I believe most of us don't really know what the middle looks like. We grew up leaning toward one side or the other by modeling our parents imbalances or as a result of our raising, relationships, and life's trials we've compensated for losses and pain by overly comforting ourselves or abusing ourselves altogether. Check any area in your life and you will discover, for some, the middle tier is a tough place to hang out. I discovered, the hard way, that being too stressed or too worried or too anything eventually brings harm to you and all that live in your circle. After suffering a great loss, I was reminded by a friend of an asian philosophy, maybe you know it, in which one could imagine all the areas of their life: family, work, friendship, play, love, living on a dinner plate and when one of those areas was imbalanced or overloaded, the plate begins to tilt and, if not corrected, all that lives on it, eventually slides off, sometimes lost forever. Keeping things in balance is imperative, not just for the sake of happiness and peace of mind, but also for your health and the health of the ones you love. Maybe there was something of real value to learn out on the playground teeter-totter.
