Balance

I just finished making dinner- pasta with butternut squash, onion, garlic, a little Parmesan cheese, toasted pinon nuts, and salt and pepper. I was tempted to add some red pepper and some goat cheese to make it creamy, but decided enough was enough. The flavors were already balanced. While I was eating I chose this as my inspiration for my writing tonight, but I'm really not talking about my cooking.

Balance was always been a guiding force in my teaching. Balance in the types of activities- sitting and active, speaking, writing, reading, listening. I chose to include each of Gardner's multiple intelligences- artistic, movement, verbal, mathematical...

So, the meal made me wonder if there is balance in my life. Maybe it's not there. I spend so much of my time at my computer. Free choice reading is usually mysteries with female detectives. So much of my time is spent with my dogs, caring for my dogs, talking about my dogs.

Is there any balance? When I "create" a dish rather than follow a recipe, I think of a balance of tastes and ingredients. Visually, I think I look for balance in shape, color and weight, which may be why I have so much trouble hanging pictures in my house. Do Michael and I balance each other-- he, the talker, me the listener? Caprice and Canon, black and white.

I'm now on a balance hunt. What is balanced? Where can I add balance? And ultimately-- how important is that balance?