Balancing Act

How do we keep our lives in balance? What do we do to get back in balance when something knocks us off that tightrope? I think I have found a couple of things that can get me back in balance. Simplicity and no expectations.
I went with my family to a friends cottage in Canada on the southern shore of Lake Huron. We were there for 2 days. Even though the time was short, I had
the most wonderful time. It was a new concept for me. No plans, no technology and no expectations. We got there on Sunday afternoon. We had lunch and then
went to the beach, which you could see from the house. Our friends have daughters in their twenties and they also have cousins and their friends in their twenties. I was sitting and talking with my friend when the cousins invited me to play baseball on the beach. Which I did. We had a great time. I so enjoyed playing with the young people. The energy and pure pleasure of just "doing whatever" is a great motivator for me to get off my ass and live life. Later we had dinner and after I played poker with some of the cousins. I didn't win but I didn't care, again just a lot of fun.
The next day we went to a small town nearby and went window shopping. It
started raining, but did that stop us from enjoying ourselves? Hell no. We
just hung out in various stores and got wet. So what. It rained all day, so we didn't go to the beach and we didn't have a campfire, so instead we played cards and board games and talked late into the night. The game called Balderdash is hilarious, ask me about it. It's simple and low tech.

The next morning was still cloudy but the rain had stopped and we sat on the
beach for a while then said our goodbyes. I wanted to stay, I didn't want this
most pleasurable time to end. But it is OK. I learned something about myself.
I don't need anything more than another human being's company to have a good
time. I don't need to spend a lot of money to measure entertainment. I don't
need technology to have fun.
The balance is slowly returning to my life. Or did I really ever have it? All
I do know is simple living with no expectations of people or events helps me
realize what was missing in my life. I make myself crazy with complexities and
expectations. It is time to stop, and like the seagull in the picture, get myself balanced.