Are you waiting for something to happen that will make you happy? When I was growing up, the books I read and the movies I saw all intimated that life promised a happy ending. I believed it all. I dated in high school but never had a long-term or steady boyfriend. I dated in college but was never pinned or engaged. The illusion began to wear thin. I was married during the Viet Nam War and I loved married life and becoming a mother. It was not the fairy tale ending I assumed from the movies and books. It was hard and I wasn't happy all the time. Aren't I supposed to be happy all the time? I was having a difficult time keeping the illusion alive.

Along the way, I began to understand the difference between happiness and contentment. Today my contentment comes from within, from being at peace with myself and my life in the present moment. It springs from a deep place of knowing my Oneness with Source and With All That Is. It is sweet and enduring even in the face of deep sorrows and...

From "Zen Cards" by Daniel Levin:

The center is not always the point of balance. When you find that place where Balance is achieved, peace will result in all situations. There is no conflict, for everything rests without strain.

As I read this, I wonder.....then I pick up an un-sharpened No. 2 pencil. I lay it across one finger at its center point and  it falls off. Of course it does. The eraser end is heavier than the writing end. I move its resting point toward the eraser end. It balances.

So what? Well, balance is essential to our wellbeing. Healthy diet, reasonable amounts of exercise, fresh air, sleep, and the meeting of other physical needs keeps the body in balance. Attention to these things benefits our physical wellbeing. Many of these things are also necessary for mental and emotional balance, and thus, wellbeing. Too much sugar and not enough sleep directly affect how we react/respond to daily life. These two things can throw our mental/ emotional balance off very...