Balancing on a SeeSaw

Balance is the prompt for the Just Jot It January 25 challenge, and here is my humble contribution on the topic I know little about. See what others said about Balance. There is a good chance they know more than I do about the subject.

https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/25/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-25th/#respond

When I think of Balance, I mentally see a picture of two kids at either end of a seesaw, hoping their weights are equal so they can go up and down evenly, and not be stuck on the ground because they are heavier or dangling from the upper end because they didn’t eat their spinach.

My younger sister and I were close to the same size in pounds when we reached seesaw age, so we could bounce up and down without one of us feeling the pleasure of superiority. At that age the heavier one felt triumphant if they could keep the other one high in the air.

I do recall the game was more fun if we could continue an up and down motion and not have the movement interrupted by inequality.

Which brings me back to balance, and how much more I enjoy my life when I feel balanced, and not out of kilter. But balance does not mean inertia or lack of activity. I want to feel the freedom of movement and not be stuck in an existence of continual evenness.

I want highs and lows, the thrill of dangling at the top, and the peace of resting, preparing to push upward, my legs launching me skyward.

Inequity, whether on the playground, in business, between friends or among nations creates imbalance, alters relations, fostering instability and discontent.

I like competition and enjoy the challenge that it generates. But I quickly get bored if I win all the time or am a constant loser. Interaction between equals is fun, creative, educational, and spirited. And it means recognizing and appreciating the strengths of each other while accepting our differences

We each bring special gifts into this world. We are enriched when we embrace the skills, the knowledge, the contributions, the talents, the history of those who are ‘different’.

There is much talk these days that promotes inequality: that we as a nation are ‘better than’ and others are ‘less than’. Believing in equality keeps my life in balance, righting my world when it begins to tilt leaving me stranded at the top of the seesaw or anchored at the bottom unable to fly.

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