Equilibrium

E.B. White said it well: "If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."

The fact is, contstantly wanting to improve the world, or an organiztion, or someone's frame of mind, makes it awfully difficult to just sit back and enjoy oneself. There are always thoughts swirling through the mind, mixing with the guilt felt over wasting time having fun when there are newspapers to read and people to meet with and new information to absorb. But there is so much beauty in life, so much to see and do and be amazed by, that it's important to take time out to be amazed. Essential, even.

And that's the main point, isn't it? The struggle exists everywhere. The battle for balance. Equilibrium. We must work, or our minds decay; we must rest, or we burn out. We must eat enough food, or we starve; too much, we grow fat and have heart attacks. We must be subjected to criticism, or we will grow complacent; too much, and our self-esteem vanishes completely. We must have love, or our spirits wither; too much, and... okay, I can't think of a downside for that one. But the point is, we need balance. Put another way: moderation in all things. That's the healthy way to go.

So, here's the question: how in the world are we supposed to be moderate in our quest for moderation???