Moderation in ALL things

"Moderation in ALL things, a saying I have tried to live my life by; not always successfully but nevertheless it is my goal.

Being moderate is being in the middle. Choosing to not sway to the extremes is the middle ground. But it is also the hardest ground to walk, play or live upon. Being in a moderate MAKES you try (at least try) to see things from all sides and make a choice that will represent a balance within the entire plane of choices.

Trying to live a life of moderation, gives you the choice to try everything and adopt those things that bring you happiness and balance.

I sometimes wonder if chocolate is an extreme, and that finding a balance within loving and wanting chocolate is impossible. So far, for me, I think chocolate is the one food item that I have a difficult time choosing moderation. Yes I am admitted chocoholic, with a special liking for dark, single-bean chocolate. But with the help of a friend (who keeps the chocolate at her house) I can be more moderate about chocolate.

Oy! I have digressed.

Strong feelings often get in the way of being moderate. Whether you are choosing a platform from an array of political opponents or trying to remain calm and in-charge when you just found out your 17 year-old has been having sex (with a large amount of lying chaser); choosing to be a rational, thinking adult can be difficult. Emotions play a large part in whether we can look past the reactions to calmly choose among the actions.

Moderation adopted as a personal creedo is challenging to begin with, but does become easier when it has been practiced. My mother once told me "the first time you have to do something (unpleasant) is the hardest. The second time it is so much easier". I have found this advice to be true, with even the most icky tasks that I am reluctant to do. (As an example, things I find hard to do: say No to friends and family, return items to the store, deliver bad news . . .)

As I look at the spectrum of life, the baby to the elderly, is moderation a choice for only those old enough to discern and young enough makes choices based on the needs of "the whole"? For instance, I do not expect a child of much less than 10 years old to be able to make the choice that will benefit the whole group, they are highly egocentric, and as the "middle-aged adult" I know this to be true. But I have also witnessed the elderly be unable to choose the middle ground, the choice that would benefit the group as a whole. Why do we revert, and again begin to choose based on our egocentric needs. Is it again finding ourselves alone and needing to feel control and "self-relilant" that urges us to prefer extreme choices? Or I am I seeing a very skewed snapshot of the elderly?

I would like to be able to unequivocally say that my life is totally based in moderation, but that is an extreme. I am not always moderate in my thinking, living, eating or being. I choose to over indulge, sometime by not choosing. Being unwilling or unable to choose is not moderation, it is making a choice to an extreme. (more on that later)

Try to live a day in moderation, if you have never done it. I like it.