I wonder how many of us have achieved balance in our lives?  It's tricky business.

There are many who would choose not to sleep if that were actually an option.  There are others - single mothers come to mind - who would say that option has been forced on them!

The secret of achieving balance, I believe wholeheartedly, is to choose it.  Our lives can be consumed 24/7 by what we believe we should do, until we say, 'Enough!'

You know, I hope, that I'm not suggesting we should live in a dirty home.  I am saying, however, that we don't need to be obsessive.

Looking at kids' activities is another area.  I think guitar lessons and baseball practice and - are all worthwhile.  I do not believe scheduling every minute of a child's time is a good thing - for child or parent.

My daughter-in-law rises very early to get the children up in time to have a relaxed period before school.  Wow!  What a concept.

The secret of achieving balance, I believe wholeheartedly,
is to choose it.  Our lives can be consumed 24/7 by what we believe we should do, until we say, 'Enough!'

I love my mornings and give myself the luxury of taking time for coffee and morning news, even if I'm reading reports on email.  What did I just write?  There is something restorative in sitting and sipping for a while before beginning the day's work and I'm going to try it without reading reports!

Work is necessary for most of us to live and enjoying our work is a blessing.  Working all the time after our needs are met is neither a necessity nor a blessing.

I'm still in the process of letting go of some of my work.  The early morning coffee was just a start.  I was too much a workaholic and still am.    It's too easy to allow loving what we do to become all that we do.  Letting go is a work in progress.

How long has it been since we read a good book?  Took a walk?  Sat outside and just listened to the birds?  Played with a child? Napped?  Volunteered?

Life has many facets. Family.  Work.  Play.  Self.  God.  Which part am I neglecting?

Balance is a choice.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.