Some days, do you feel like a member of the famous Flying Wallenda family?  Walking the tight rope of life, performing the ultimate balancing act of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g…..and working without a net??  Ahhh, welcome to Monday!  It’s the ultimate IRONY that my meditation topic was about Balance today!  Yes please.  I want some!

As I consider HOW to get myself into balance — it dawned on me — that this balancing “trick” can be simple or hard — it all depends on how many things I’m trying to balance.  Ah-Ha!!

Consider our old childhood friend……that crazy ole Cat in the Hat.    He seemed to revel in the chaos of trying to Balance ALOT of stuff.  But let’s be real for a moment — when everything came crashing down, Ohhh, and it eventually WOULD — he didn’t seem so invested in the survival of that poor goldfish in the bowl.  I’m wondering how that poor little fish-y felt most of the time.  Couldn’t have been good.

So as I move forward through my Monday, and I feel the stress building — I’m going to attempt to prioritize s.t.u.f.f.  You know, S.T.U.F.F!  No, unfortunately, I’m not referring to that soft, sweet, fluffy layer between the two outer crunchy Oreo cookies.  I’m talking about s.t.u.f.f.  Your s.t.u.f.f.  My s.t.u.f.f.  You know, property….. things!  Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing x to the nth degree!  It’s all math.  Even s.t.u.f.f is math.  But balance is also math….with a little side dish of physics…..and a pinch or two of faith!

In fact, Monday is the Perfect day to muddle in the art of balance.  If you are anything like me, the insomnia starts on Sunday night.  Because my mind begins the painful task of list-making.  Obligations.  Deadlines.  Pressure.  Stress.  S.T.U.F.F.!    Everything I owe to him and her.  Everything I need to do for this and that.  Everything I need to finish before morning, noon and night. U.G.H!  Dreams quickly turn to nightmares, as I flip my pillow over and over and over — looking for sleep.  The list of s.t.u.f.f. haunts me all night.  The irony here being — I’ll be so tired by Monday morning that I’ll find it really hard to remember the ghosts on my list from the night before.  What was I supposed to do first thing??  D@mn, and it seemed really important last night too.  Bummer!

~~~~~  Balance.

Kinda like comfortable high heels.

It’s Illusive.

But SO worth the chase.

So I’m going to be exploring the Art of Balance.  No — it won’t be about learning how to juggle more balls or how to get better at having more balls in the air.  No.  I’m going to explore the art of putting some balls down.  Simplifying my “trick”, so I can get better at it.    Simplifying my life…..so I can get better at it.    Learning how to be happy with less.  Learning how to expect less of myself.  And if I do the Math right —- this formula could be exponential — and I’m going to get MORE out of it.

More Meaning Out of Less S.t.u.f.f.   That’s my definition of Balance.