THE TANK

JugglingFrom chain Saws to Church Groups

Monday, September 29, 2008 By Caleb Cole

Have you ever watched someone juggle? I'm sure most of us have and some of you reading may even be able to do it. I have always been impressed by people who could juggle things, whether it be juggling balls or flaming chain saws while balancing a wooden chair on top of their head. Juggling is just cool. Well, as impressive as I find it, I never have been very good at juggling. I can juggle two of something with one hand for a very short amount of time, and that is the extent of my abilities. This isn't the only form of juggling which impresses me though. Juggling activities and priorities is even more difficult and, in my opinion, dangerous than juggling flaming chain saws. Trying to evenly distribute your time, energy, and attention to the things you are loyal to is extremely difficult and demanding. I hate to use this term but, "in today's society" we go 3,000 miles per hour and rarely stop to take a breath. I know my schedule doesn't leave much room for down time. Jazz choir at 7 a.m., school from 7:50 to 2:40 p.m., work from 3 to 9:30...ish, and then home to do whatever homework I have for the next day, and this is a very basic sketch of it. To me this seems pretty full, but there are people, my age even, who look at this and say, "Wow I wish I had a schedule this easy." Whether you find my schedule busy or not makes no difference. My point is just the fact that we like staying busy. I know I stay busy to keep from going insane, but sometimes it is in fact this busy-ness, which makes us melt down. Most of you are probably thinking, "Here it comes. He's gonna tell us to stop being so busy and start using our time to do the things we enjoy and the important things in life." Well, to some extent you're right. It wouldn't hurt any of us to slow down just a bit. But I think it would better benefit people for me to say this: find your balance. I won't lie. This is something I struggle with. I take on responsibility after responsibility until I'm at my wits end trying to figure out how I am going to get things done on time and done right. I just have trouble saying, "No, I don't have time." My dad has been a part of this battle for years now, and last year he gave me some great advice. "Find your balance." It was a seemingly obvious and simple statement at first. But it wasn't until after he said it out loud I realized how very poor my concept of what he had said was. Find your balance. Don't get rid of everything just for the sake of sanity. Prioritize and find out what is truly important to you. Take the things you have to do and a few of the most important things you want to do, and find a balance between them that allows you to enjoy your activities while not being cut down by activities and the flaming chain saws of your life. As with most pieces of advice, it's easier to hear and comprehend than it is to follow it. This one even comes with an extra twist in the fact that balance for one person means something totally different for another. With this in mind, it all falls on you to figure out what you consider to be a priority and to find your own balance. My dad is a wise man, and his advice has helped me tons. I hope you can gain something out of it as well and take the time to sit down and find your balance, so you don't drop the chair and take one of the flaming chain saws by the wrong end and get burned.