Balance.
I’m not a morning person. Most days I wake up in a sort of a fog, stumble to the bathroom, brush my teeth, make my bed, take a shower, do all of those things on autopilot. Most days, my thoughts are like a jumbled ball of yarn.
Luckily, I have gotten into a habit of making a To Do list the night before, otherwise absolutely nothing would be remembered to be done.
However, today I woke up with a memory. A few years ago, in synagogue, after services, I came to talk to another member — we will call them A, because I am not sure A would want me talking about their health condition. A had been suffering with some serious heart problems, had even underwent heart surgery. Following the surgery, he lost quite a lot of weight. I said, “A, you look good, you lost a lot of weight, good on you!”
That’s when a woman I hadn’t notice behind me spoke up. She said, “Yes, A. What did you give up?”
Her question made my breath catch in my throat — not out of concern for A, but out of concern for myself. I almost missed A’s answer, when he sadly said, “Food.” It was later, much later, that I realized that it wasn’t quite what A meant. I believe that he meant he gave up fat, since “fat is where the flavor’s at,” as a good friend once put it. I was actually most focused on the woman’s straightforward question about having to give up something to get the desired results.
