"A just weight and balance are the Lord's..."

Mama told me when I was young Come sit beside me, my only son And listen closely to what I say. And if you do this It will help you some sunny day. Take your time... Don't live too fast, Troubles will come and they will pass. Go find a woman and you'll find love, And don't forget son, There is someone up above.

[Chorus:]
And be a simple kind of man. Be something you love and understand. Be a simple kind of man. Won't you do this for me son, If you can? Forget your lust for the rich man's gold All that you need is in your soul, And you can do this if you try. All that I want for you my son, Is to be satisfied.
[Chorus]

Boy, don't you worry. You'll find yourself. Follow you heart, and nothing else. You can do this, if you try. All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.

On our path through life we strive, we strive for many things. Right now, I'm striving for balance. An even keel. A comfortable bed. Solitude from the masses in my personal time... Regularity. Not routine but balance. I need to be at peace with myself for the next adventure. Simplicity...

But finding balance in a world with so many distractions can often become quite the conundrum.

In my attempt to find balance I do as much as I can in my free time. One of the things I did last month was visit the Toronto Sportsman Show. This visit though disturbed the balance. I went in with high expectations that soon were quashed! It is no longer the "show" that Dad and I attended so many years ago! It isn't even the "show" of TWO years ago where I volunteered my time at the NWTF booth.


I had some good conversations with a few people. I even met a friend, a young person looking to get more into the sporting lifestyle. Were he able to attend the shows of my youth I'm sure he would be even MORE enthusiastic!



"The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament..."


There's one thing though that I absolutely loved about the Sportsman Show of my past...
Grab bags! 

Brown paper lunch bags with simply a price on them. A couple of lures, maybe some hooks and sinkers and a spool of line. And there would be this table of them. $5, $10, or $15 dollars each! Or, grab a brown paper bag and three lures, or three spinner baits for $8 or $10!  

But the weight of the contents, undisclosed, of a brown paper bag often doesn't equal one's expectations!

I don't purchase mystery bags of fishing tackle any more. More often than not, they do not weigh as much as the anticipation. They're off balance!


So, balance. 

Balance is best found in simplicity. Equations and problems are best solved when the numbers are simple.

The "Beatitudes" are simple...
Blessed are the poor, those that mourn, the meek; those that hunger, that thirst. Blessed are the peace makers, the mercifull; Blessed are those that are pure in heart!

These characteristics are simple, but they are not easily obtained!

But, they are worth the effort!

In my journey towards balance, a simple balance, these characteristics will make my bed softer, they will help ease my mind, and each day's grab bag of tackle will weigh more than the initial expectation!

Sinplicity and balance are not convoluted, finding them may be hard work, but the rewards are just!