The story is told of a father and his son. The father was getting older, and the son was always in a hurry. They lived on a farm and had to go to the big town on business. They started out early, and the boy was walking very fast. The father said, "Son, take it easy, you will last longer." On the way, the father had to see a sick sister. The boy complained, because he wanted to get to town. The father said, "Take it easy, you will last longer." Along the way, the path went by an uncle's house. The father stopped and talked about old times, and had a good time with the uncle. The boy was impatient. Once again on their way, the path split and they could take a scenic route, or a more direct path. The father decided to take the more pleasant path. The boy complained, saying "Don't you have any respect for time?" The father said, "Take it easy, you will last longer." Then they came upon a man with an ox in a ditch and stopped to help. The boy didn't want to stop, but the father said "Relax son, you'll last longer. They finally got to the crest of a hill where they could look down on the city, and they saw a mushroom-shaped cloud billowing up from the city from the destruction below it. The city they were visiting was called Hiroshima!

There needs to be a balance to life. The body can only be pushed so far in producing results before mistakes begin due to fatigue. The same is true of the mental state. Psychosis can be induced by lack of sleep. The relatively modern phenomenon of stress is simply explained as the body's reaction to life! We live in such a rushed age that stress is the inevitable result. Christ told is in Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavyn laden, and I will give you rest." The Creator also gave mankind the Sabbath day to rest and rejuvenate.

Balance is important.

The same is true at the cellular level. Vitamins, for example can be divided into two types. There are water soluble (dissolve in water) and fat-soluble vitamins (dissolve in fat). Water-soluble vitamins (B vitamins and vitamin C) are of no special concern. But fat-soluble vitamins such as A,D,E and K are another story. These vitamins cannot be washed out through the kidney, as is the case with water-soluble vitamins. In excessive amounts, vitamin A can act like a toxin, and may cause headaches, joint pain, damaged skin and hair loss. A balance needs to be maintained for these vitamins to work effectively.

However, beta-carotene, which occurs naturally in foods, is not toxic. The body can extract the vitamin A from beta-carotene that it needs, and uses the rest in other ways. That is why the trend has developed to get away from vitamin A itself, and use beta-carotene.

People do almost everything in excess-eat too much, drink too much, spend too mucy, party too much. Moderation and balance are not very popular words. The body can take a lot of abuse, but recovery time is needed. It is needed by the stomach between meals, and by the whole body when we sleep for example. A balance between all aspects of life is important to health and happiness.