"Everything in Moderation"

 "Better grounded emotionally through patience, we become stronger mentally and spiritually, and tend to be healthier physically." -His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Sometimes I feel old. Other times I act young. Sometimes I am really lucky. Other times I make great decisions. Life is constantly throwing stuff at all of us, at such a rapid pace, it often seems like it's a constant series of reactions.

I spent a lot of time this past week reflecting on a lot of things. But before you think I'm going all "Lifetime Original Movie" on you, there were situations thrust upon me that re-enforced the idea of everything in moderation.

I had a close friend get in a nasty car accident. He's lucky to be alive. It's not fair to him to post to the details right now, considering he can't even speak. We'll just leave it at that. The point of my posting is that I was having a great time with him and other friends that night. The Celtics lost to the Heat in the much-anticipated first game of their playoff series, but that news was blown over by the breaking news that Osama Bin Laden has been discovered and killed by US Navy Seals. Everyone was brought back to September 11th and where were you?

It was a very reflective, weirdly elating, and strangely communal night because you'll always remember where you were during historical moments like that.

Fast Forward to 6 AM to the next morning and my friend's sister calling me to ask if I was with her brother and if I could tell her anything that happened? What? He had flipped his car multiple times and needed several surgeries to basically reshape his face. Holy. Shit.

Mark Twain best summed this up, "Everything has its limit- iron cannot be educated into gold." Some people will get that, but for the others, just remember the title, Everything in moderation.

The next day, I played golf. I was actually supposed to play with the kid in the car accident. I wasn't allowed in ICU so what the hell, right? I was thrown in with a group of 6 buddies, all 50-somethings, that had gone to High School together. Good times. They reminded me that everyone has their group. You'll grow old with them. You'll stay in touch. And they'll be other groups that you don't stay in touch with as well, but you'll do the best you can because you care, it's just that life goes at the aforementioned pace. It's like that guy in the circus who juggles 15 plates on different sticks. You're just trying to keep them all spinning.

It's been a week, and if you wondering, my friend is doing better. He still can't talk because his jaw was broken. He's had multiple surgeries and I have no doubt he'll bounce back from this, but it's a harsh reminder of what happens when you can't balance your plates like the guy in the circus.

"Awakening starts when you notice that you notice." -Deepak Chopra