By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Eastsiders' lives are busy and come with some risks.

An Eastside Mental Health family therapist regularly counsels stressed-out parents struggling to balance professional and relationship demands. Ditto a cardiologist at Overlake Hospital who says he sees thirtysomething professionals -- including Microsoft employees -- for stress-related heart problems.

Dick Leon, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, has worked in India, the Philippines and elsewhere in the United States, but has "never been in a community that is this busy."

"School, work, piano, ballet, soccer, volunteering at church -- these are all good things, they're not wicked," says Leon, who oversees one of the oldest and most steadily growing churches in Bellevue. "But the funny thing is, even though people in Bellevue have what everybody wants -- secure neighborhoods, nice homes, cars, trinkets, gadgets and comforts -- many still find that all the possessions are not enough.

"I think the reason for rising church attendance is that behind the facade, an awful lot of people here are seeking a spiritual dimension to help balance their lives."

The search for balance has led many people outdoors as well. Locals stroll through the Botanical Gardens on Wilburton Hill, and children play in numerous pocket parks.

Recreational facilities also abound: tennis courts at Robinswood, a wide range of swimming programs at the remodeled Bellevue Aquatics Center, and organized sports at school gyms and community centers.