When I was a child living on a farm my father and our hired hand built a small play area for my brothers and me. It consisted of a rope swing tied to a large tree in the yard, a sandbox, and a seesaw. The seesaw was built with a rough plank most likely salvaged from one of the falling-down old pigstys or chicken coops. It rested on a support (which my father would have correctly referred to as a “fulcrum”) made from old pipes. The ends of the pipe structure were secured in small holes filled with concrete.

Playing on a seesaw can be either exhilarating or terrifying depending on the personalities and balance between the two sides involved. If the person or persons on either side are reasonably confident and only slightly fearful, and if they have a kind and cooperative outlook on human interaction, riding up and down can be a wonderful experience. If, however, some or all of the participants in the game enjoy making others uncomfortable at minimum, or at worst see human interaction as a fight to the death for dominance, the experience quickly becomes terrible. My brothers and I played well together most of the time, but my experience on school playgrounds was a different story. Finding myself once too often on one end of a seesaw with a bully on the other, I learned quickly that picking the right partners, friends & allies in life is a high priority.

The most fun I had on a seesaw was when I was lucky enough to be partnered with someone who liked to see if we could each go halfway up and then balance and hold the plank when it was parallel to the ground–naturally without touching our feet to the ground. The concept is simple, but staying in balance for more than a few seconds is very difficult.

It has taken me most of my life to realize that even when our metaphoric seesaws are going up and down at a breakneck pace, and even when we don’t recognize it, we still pass through that place of balance. Perhaps we can learn to sense that infinitesimal place more often and learn how to let our spirits linger there. Even if we don’t often notice or experience that balance maybe just the simple acknowledgement that it is there will make it more powerful and accessible to our consciousness.

Yesterday I sat and talked with a friend who is struggling (as am I) with finding balance and comfort as we face some very scary and dangerous realities in our personal and wider worlds. Just a few hugs, a few words, a few smiles helped us reach that place of equilibrium and to lessen a bit the chaos and fear that keeps us off balance. Whenever we can experience even a moment of that balance we grow stronger. Instead of being stuck going up and down over and over again, perhaps we will be able to get off the seesaw and move forward.

(c) marthahurwitz2025