Balance

When I was younger my mom likened life to a pie.

“Balance is important”, she’d say. Imagine a pie where each piece represents a facet of your life. Perhaps the first slice is friends, the second slice your schooling/ work, the third slice is family, the fourth slice is boyfriends and the fifth slice your hobbies. It’s important to give each aspect of the pie –your life- it’s due attention.” (Okay... maybe she didn't include the fourth slice then, but I'm sure she meant it)

I remember the first time this was explained to me. I was sitting at the table with my head in my hands, crying from the sheer agony of being dumped by the guy I was certain , then, was my one, true love.

“My life is over!” I ranted. “He was IT, Mom! I know he was. How am I going to get past this? He was my world. Without him, who am I?”

Even though it was years ago, I still remember her horrified reaction. My mom was utterly appalled at me. How could she have raised a daughter who believed it is a man who creates her worth? And worse yet, how could her little girl already have her priorities so wildly out of balance?

I’ve always had problems with balance. I don’t know how to stabilize my life. Blame it on my desire for success, and my schedule so strict, the idea of balance is like a long forgotten fairy tale that I should, but don’t remember the moral to. I’m letting work take over my world to the point where I’m forgetting to live. And today, it hit me: when I’m older and looking back on my life, is it the tasks I accomplished that I’ll want to remember? Well, maybe. But definitely not just that. More importantly, it’s the memories I’d want to remember. But sadly, right now, I’m not making any.

Clearly, that has to change.

The more I think about it, the more I understand the notion of balance and the importance of maintaining, or at the very least attempting to maintain life’s equilibrium. After all, as in the case of a perfect pie, it is each of the pieces that make it whole. And so, we must learn to savor each one of life’s various slices.