Moderation. Really?!

All right, I admit it.  I’ve always been suspicious of words like “moderation” and “balance”.  I don’t particularly want to be “balanced” – I want to reach the maximum, to be passionate, go all out.

When it comes to health, at a time of year when there are so many parties and changes in schedule, words like moderation and balance are thrown around more than ever.  And ignored more than ever.

If you are fighting cluster headache, or migraine, or some chronic headache condition, maybe you do need to be balanced.  But let me make a humble suggestion.  Let’s be balanced … in moderation.

It’s true that many people are more sensitive to changes in the body.  A change in schedule, in diet, in activity – these and many other things can trigger horrible attacks of headache and other symptoms.

So, sure, maybe we should try to keep our sleep schedule as regular as possible.  Maybe we should avoid sudden very hectic active days, eating a lot of sugar all at once.  Forgetting to eat, maxing out on the caffeine.  We should be careful about these things.  I’m ok with that.

But there are some things that I don’t want to be balanced about, and neither do you.  Let’s be passionate about giving other people happiness.  Let’s be serious about taking time to reflect.  Let’s go all out when it comes to making memories, even when some unwelcome symptoms hit.

Nothing was perfect in 2013, and it probably won’t be in 2014, as long as we’re dealing with things like migraine and headache.  But while we’re moderate about some things, we can still be passionate about fighting back, and about living in spite of the battles.

Love, hope, faith – there are some things that we should never do in moderation.