The Scent of Play-Doh

I just love the way Play-Doh smells.  I love it so much that I bought some the other day.  Squishing the purple, pink, and green moulding clay between my fingers brought me back to my childhood - a time when things seemed simple.  Why was that?  Was it because we didn't watch the news as children and had no idea what the world was really like?  Or maybe, because cleaning our rooms and remembering to brush our teeth were our only responsibilities?  I'm not opposed to being aware of what is happening in the world or having responsibilities - I'm just realizing that it isn't easy balancing them with living a simple life. 

I've been thinking a lot about balance and of holding two or more opposing values.  How do you embrace both the essence of adulthood and childhood?  What about responsibility and spontaneity?  How do you hold both life and death?  Though I don't know the answers, I think it is important to ask the questions.  When I first began seeing things from a "both" perspective versus an "or" perspective, I felt a sense of relief.  I didn't feel pressured to choose and I felt like I could just be open.  For example, I hate that people are dying in war.  At the same time, I understand that there are times when we need to fight.  Instead of choosing one side over the other - I am trying to embrace both.  I am trying to hold both the fear that I have for my cousin's life with pride that he is fighting for freedom. 

During times like these, when I become confused and overwhelmed, I've learned to take a few deep breaths.  And now, thanks to my new Play-Doh, I will lay on my sofa, squish it between my fingers and open myself up to what the world wants me to take in.