Oh goodness. Don't you love etymology? So balast is a Turkish word, according to some sources. I know it from ballast, French, as in the ballast that steadies or weights down a ship, as you say.
I've never imagined it as a figurative word but I love it in this context.
Here's me being all literal on your post when you are saying so much more!
Damn, seems sometimes we are each other's fan club here - pebbles north and south, across equators.
Etymology is freaking amazing! It's heartening to me to see how interconnected everything is. Maybe you're feeling small and alone at any given point, but you're really just a letter away from the Turks or a phony, lovely accent away from the French. So that's not so bad, is it? :D
Oh hush, I love that you're being literal!
Well. If not us, who, darling? <3