A Balancing Act

One of my beliefs has been that moderation is the key to happiness. I believe that is true in most areas of life:  food, exercise, and alcohol consumption, for instance. In fitness, if one pursues a single sport, like tennis, for example, that person might sometimes have recurring injuries because of using the same movements repeatedly. That is one reason that I appreciate the idea of cross training - doing several different exercise activities instead one exclusive fitness regimen. But is it also a good idea to stray from the idea of moderation and go for that one life's passion that you adore?

I can say without hesitation that gardening is my true passion. I know this because I can spend hours in my landscape and not even realize how long I have been there. When I first moved to Asheville 14 years ago, I would work in my garden through sun, rain, wind, and freezing temperatures. Once I was digging in a steady rain, and my next door neighbor had a puzzled look on his face and said, "You must really love gardening to be out here right now". It didn't stop there - I often would fall asleep thinking about what I was going to plant the next day. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and have a brilliant idea about a landscape design that I needed to try. I didn't do these crazy things on purpose - they just happened because I was so absorbed in the gardening experience.

I continued with my ultimate passion until I created my Monet inspired garden. Of course it wasn't a finished product - true gardeners know that your garden is never complete. It is like a painting that you keep working on but is never really completed.  The garden continues to evolve based on the weather, your changing ideas about what you like, and your ability to maintain all that you have planted!  But that is part of what makes gardening so intriguing to me. My garden could look quite different from year to year  There were new ideas that I had to try.

I no longer have that garden.  Now I have a new landscape and I am in the process of starting a garden  This one will be different. I am at the point in my life that there are many other activities that I want to pursue. I want to practice yoga on a regular basis, walk all over Asheville, dance as often as possible, bake pies, write, and take classes  Yes, I realize that there other things out there in addition to gardening!  And it is actually freeing to know that. As much as I loved my garden, I sometimes felt chained to it. And even though gardening is indeed an exercise, I needed more variety in order to be healthier.

If you have a fitness routine, exercise, or hobby that you enjoy exclusively, consider that there are a lot of options out there,  It is wonderful to have a life's passion, just as I still have for gardening. However, I have changed in many ways since I have been participating in other possibilities.  I have lost a few unwanted pounds, met new friends, discovered numerous forms of exercise that I enjoy and found another passion - dancing!  I am "branching out" to enjoy all that life has to offer. I feel more balanced, and perhaps that is a good idea.