“You gotta fight for your right to party.”

My girlfriend paraphrases a classic 80’s Beastie Boys song. She’s not talking about boozing it up, though. What she means is that we all only have one life. This day. This hour. And the only one deciding how we live it, is us.

As technology ramps, making us available to each other every nanosecond, it seems expectations increase. Our time, these moments of living that make up a space in which we call our lives, is pulled in multiple directions. Each direction calls, as we attempt to navigate our way through the chaos.

So what am I trying to articulate here in this mass of unorganized words?

I am a fool that longs for balance!

All the while, reality appears to laugh at my desire to have things flow in some perfected sense of equilibrium and harmony. To think! There’s some place where I could sit and sigh, throw my feet up and sip a lemonade? Say that I’ve finally arrived at perfection? Ahhh! Sweet balance. Hah!

As I juggle schedules, a dinner that includes protein and greens, 2nd grade math, and some semblance of romance with my sweetheart over laundry (oh yeah, and maybe floss my teeth), I realize this idea of perfected balance is quite possibly an illusion. Some fallacy of the mind that there is a final destination to be achieved, when in fact, it’s all about the experience along the way. That big, messy, sometimes-out-of-control journey called Life.

So when my friend quotes the Beastie Boys, what I think she’s saying is that there are a million distractions on this outrageous odyssey. An infinite amount of possible paths that will gladly pull you along towards their agendas. It takes a little clarity, a little vision. You may have to wield the sword to carve out the life you want to live. This path may be a little uncharted but it’s worth the challenge to live the life you love.

As I welcome so many beautiful changes into my life these days, I know the old routine I had grown accustomed to is shifting.

And I’ll be candid and tell you now (but if you’re one of the beautiful ones following this blog – you may have already noticed): I’ve been sleeping in for the last two weeks, barely able to post to my beloved Archives during my typical 4:30am writing hour.

Here’s where, I guess, I need to bring out the sword. Acquiesce and set an alarm, even though I have an aversion to alarm clocks. I’m seeking balance here. Fighting (with gentle, balanced intention) for my right to party.