Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Life is full of it...

As we were walking this morning, I told my wife that I was that I was probably 85% following our South Beach Diet, and 15 % cheating, but for me, just not over-eating is doing more to help me lose weight than just sticking to the items on the diet. Then I said something I find myself saying regularly. "Isn't it amazing how much of life is a matter of balance?" We so quickly label things as "bad for us" when in reality, they aren't bad at all - unless we do too much of them. Chocolate is good. In certain amounts and at certain times, it can even be healthy. But if I choose to eat a sixteen ounce giant Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar, and do it enough, I shouldn't be surprised to see my spare tire turn into a Mac Truck sized inner tube, and find out that my arteries are clogged up worse than Granny's field lines. When I talked with my Doctor about possibly training to run a half marathon, he didn't say "Don't do it," but he did say he'd rather see me stay on a good regimented daily exercise program than overdue it, and spend months recuperating. I heard him say, "balance" even though he never used the word.
I was talking with one of my daughters about children today being so drawn to technological things, like Wi games, cell phones, Ipads, computers, and all the other devices available for today's kids. She was concerned about her children spending too much time connected to technological devices and not learning to socialize and use their minds for creative things. All those gadgets are for entertainment. Yes, there are some that are educational, but it has multiplied the number of electronic baby sitters that used to be just limited to TV. Any parent that allows their child or children to use technological devices and doesn't have guidelines and restrictions as to when, where, and how long they can be used, is a parent who is not parenting.
Again, it's a matter of balance. Those games, computers, and electronic toys are entertainment, but life isn't just about entertainment. Remember, proper parental control exists to guide children to proper self-control. If they don't learn the principle of balance in life, their life will be out of balance. Just think about the level of balance that is required to "love your neighbor as you love yourself." When things get out of balance, someone is going to have problems. That's what happens to children who never learn to balance things in life.
Now, were is my Ipad?

2 comments:

Glenave Curtis said...

Don't call me Granny! Ha Ha

Elizabeth said...

The older I get, I realize that most of my "why" and "how" conversations come back to the word BALANCE. There isn't a generalized right or wrong....only what is right or wrong for you. Being okay with having my own balancing scale look different from others is the challenging part for me.