Remember
playing on a seesaw and trying to achieve the
balance that meant we and our friends could sit on
opposite ends of the board, suspended in the air
without the board moving up or down?
To
achieve such a balance we had to have only one thing
in common with our friend: similar body weight.
Tonight
we're still on that seesaw. We've spent our day
trying to balance all that came our way.
Some things
may have weighed us down; others may have buoyed us
in the air.
Through living
each day, we've learned that neither the high nor
the low stays around long enough to tip the balance
too far.
No
matter what sits down on the opposite end of our
board of life, we need to remember achieving balance
is the important thing.
When we are
balanced, it means we have equalized both the good
and the bad with our strength, hope, faith, and
security.
\
Constant
togetherness is fine -- but only for
Siamese twins.
--
Victoria Billings
Fusion in relationships can
be self-destructive.
Bonding
so tightly with one person, with little time spent
apart, is a perfect setup to addiction.
When we
become addicted to a person, we can be as desperate
and suffering as an addict without a fix. Growing
up, we may have spent hours fantasizing about how
wonderful relationships were.
We may
have placed so much hope in dreams of a perfect
relationship that once we met someone, we
unconsciously smothered the other person and
ourselves in togetherness.
We may
have believed time spent apart meant our partner
didn't love us or care to be with us. Each flower in
a garden has a separate set of roots, separate
stems, leaves, and buds.
Although
the flowers may be the same variety, each is
different in a subtle way. Similarly, we grow with
our partner, like two separate flowers sharing the
same garden.
Our
roots may intertwine and our leaves touch, yet we
still grow and flourish separately from the other.
I
had the blues because I had no shoes, until
upon the street I met a man who had no feet.
--
Harold Abbott
A young man traveled to the
city to apply for jobs. But first he wanted to buy
new shoes to assure a good impression.
He was so intent on
getting to a shoe store that he nearly tripped over
another man.
This man had no legs
and was sitting on a board with wheels, pushing his
way along the sidewalk when the two had bumped.
But the accident in no way
slowed down the disabled man; he waved a cheery
greeting to the young man and traveled on.
How often are we so caught
up in petty trifles that we don't notice others?
The young man so concerned
with shoes and a future job learned some people
don't have to worry about shoes.
What did we notice
today? If we think back to today's events, can we
remember little details about people, recall smiles
and laughter, or recollect snatches of conversation?
We can take time to
notice more than our shoes.
