Balance balls are for amateurs

Images of balance are everywhere: in magazines, scrolling through our friends' pages on facebook, on the walls of the gym, and in our heads.  We get it, we're supposed to find balance.  But what does it mean to find balance in all things?  Is it the equilibrium of the scales?  The letting go of one thing to take on another?  A state of mind?  Scarier yet, a state of being?  Who the hell knows?!  I blame the Puritans.  

Those dudes thrived on the all or nothing principle.  Either you were good or bad; worthy or unworthy; chosen or unchosen.  Thanks, guys; you really did a bang-up job of helping us cope with the world you created and then abdicated.  

Balance is a tricky thing.  Perhaps the goal is to figure out what is enough and get rid of the rest.  

How do we figure out the limit of what is enough?  Enough money, enough space, enough love, enough stuff?  Religions teach us that there is a difference between a want and a need.  Perhaps that's the key.  Do I want this, or do I need it?  Will it contribute directly to my survival?  Yes.  Okay, that's a need.  No.  Hm, I guess that's a want.  

I need food, shelter, and clothing.  I need the same for my son.  I want to have some fun in the meantime.  Today the fun was building Legos before school and laughing at people who got caught in the downpour predicted at lunch time.  

History will show whether or not I achieved the elusive quality of balance in my life.  Today I feel satisfied, and that's enough.