This Odd Concept of "Balance"

My Dad once told me that the one true sin, the sin that begets all others in a way, is gluttony. Now, I don't want to start a theological discussion on the seven cardinal sins or anything, but the Old Man had a point. He was big on "everything in moderation", and I'm far enough along in the world to pretty much agree with him.

I'll be frank: there's a lot of things defining my reality right now that suck because someone doesn't have a clue about "enough". Corporations, for example, have gotten most of their shackles thrown off and their doing a pretty damned fine job of selling the USA down the river so that the bigwigs can get "more". Not to mention those fine hereditary "representatives" in the government that are helping the Corps get "more" while they get "more" as well. Frankly, I really, really respect my father nowadays.

But, what's this got to do with writing?

Just a little insight into how I want to live my life, is all. I do other things besides write. I like model airplanes, for one, and paintball, for another. Writing is my equivalent of painting: a form of creative expression.

I'm not in it for the money, per se, but I want to be recognized as notable in the field. That means I have to take my efforts seriously. However, there's this concept of balance that hovers about the back of my mind.

I tend to view life as a kind of scale with time being the pebbles you add to the pans. If I throw too much of my time into any one pan, then the whole system gets out of whack. Family is one pan that always gets its share of pebbles. What's left gets divided between all the things I do, writing being only one. So I've got this scale with about a dozen pans and trying to keep them all balanced becomes...interesting.

The core of it comes down to a couple of things, however: family and health. If you don't take care of those two little items, your existence on this plane of reality will be miserable and, in all likelihood, short. I plan on being a pain in the butt to my great-grandkids, so that means balance.

Just random thinking, signifying nothing...

D