Balance

Depending on what type of balance you are looking for, Wikipedia defines the metaphysical definition of balance as; a desirable point between two or more opposite forces. If I were to take my writing and and put it on one side of the scale, the necessities of my life would be far outweighed. On one side of the scale I’m a rookie writer at the age of 50 looking to achieve something similar to Grandma Moses but in a literary sense. On the other side of the scale I am a recovering alcoholic, a father of three sons, a husband, an employee at a large chemical storage company and a son to a mom with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. That’s the necessary stuff. There is a lot of peripheral stuff that I can add to that side of the balance but I need to draw a line somewhere.

As you may begin to see, there really is no desirable point between the opposite forces in my life if you look at the necessities versus writing but if I take the things that I need most and divide them by six. I can give an equal amount of time to each one. Maybe not an equal amount but compartmentalize each component and address each responsibility as needed.

The most important part for me is this recovery business. Without that I can’t be any of the other titles that I listed. I learned that important lesson almost 25 years ago. The spiritual values are what gives me that desirable point between two or more desirable forces. When I maintain that balance, then and only then, can I have the emotional balance to not only put things in my life but also be able to handle life on life’s terms. I attribute those spiritual values in helping our family get through one of “life’s” most difficult moments when we buried my oldest son after a valiant fight with leukemia.

Being a responsible productive member of my family is paramount to my writing. It has a track record of providing the material things needed to sustain my family’s life. I don’t want to mislead anyone here but my writing has not made a mountain of cash yet. I would love to write for a living. I had the second most successful book signing by a local author at our little local bookstore here in Manasquan NJ. I consider that a huge success because I was second to Mary Higgins Clark. Not too shabby for a rookie author who may not have literary balance but has some figuratively.

http://www.wix.com/velomannj/matthayduk/page-0