Keeping Balance

Perhaps the last two weeks have been tough, exhausting in some ways. Days spent in the hospital helping to care for Melanie, the hours spent on the road, the strange meals eaten on the run. But the one thing I do know is that within the changes, there was always something constant, always the front door of the house to open and when we walked through the door, it was never less than a haven. Home gives me such nourishment, the soul kind. Even when I am busy busy, I can walk through the door, sit down in the living room and feel totally revived. The scent of incense, the warm colors, the light coming through the windows in the day, or the soft light in the evening. The way the wooden floors squeak as I walk down the hallway, the light aroma of batches of home made soap stacked in the big bathroom. All these bits of home, put together to make it more than just a house.
Since a child, I have never been one to take on more than I can handle, partly because I seem to be able to handle a lot. I have lots of energy. I am not big into jumping into something that is more than I know I can do and then having to retract a commitment or even a hobby because it feels like too much after a while. The older I get, the easier it is to plainly say no to things without having to make excuses. I like getting older for that reason, you are more free to express what you really feel without the worry about, "will people still like me". To me that feels more like high school behavior now. Its not that I don't care if people will like me, its just I don't have to impress anyone any more in hopes someone will like me. I have my friends, old ones, and some new ones and that works for me. Not a day passes that some friend doesn't call or stop by the house, unannounced, casual and comfortable in just stopping by for a chat.
Life isn't always easy, but its always meant to filled with balance at the end of the day.

A man strolling through the Japanese Gardens, his face was one of complete balance and contentment and that even seems to show in the way he walks.